List of the oldest mosques in the world

The designation of the oldest mosque in the world requires careful use of definitions, and must be divided into two parts, the oldest in the sense of oldest surviving building, and the oldest in the sense of oldest mosque congregation. Even here, there is the distinction between old mosque buildings that have been in continuous use as mosques, and those that have been converted to other purposes; and between buildings that have been in continuous use as mosques and those that were shuttered for many decades. In terms of congregations, they are distinguished between early established congregations that have been in continuous existence, and early congregations that ceased to exist.

To be listed here a site must:

be the oldest mosque in a country, large city (top 50), or oldest of its type (denomination, architectural, etc.);
be the oldest congregation of its type (denomination).

Oldest mosques

Building	Location	Country	First Built	Denomination	Notes
Quba Mosque Quba Mosque The Quba Mosque in the outlying environs of Medina in Saudi Arabia, is the oldest mosque in the world. Its first stones were positioned by the Islamic prophet Muhammad on his emigration from the city of Mecca to Medina and the mosque was completed by his companions...	Medina Medina Medina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...	Saudi Arabia	622	Sunni	Oldest mosque site, but building largely rebuilt in 20th century
Al-Masjid al-Nabawi Al-Masjid al-Nabawi Al-Masjid al-Nabawi , often called the Prophet's Mosque, is a mosque situated in the city of Medina. As the final resting place of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, it is considered the second holiest site in Islam by Muslims and is one of the largest mosques in the world...	Medina Medina Medina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...	Saudi Arabia	622	Islam	Site of pilgrimage. Contains Muhammad's tomb. Largely rebuilt.
Masjid al-Qiblatain Masjid al-Qiblatain Masjid al-Qiblatain is a mosque in Medina that is historically important for Muslims as the place where the Islamic prophet Muhammad, leading the prayer, is said to have been commanded to change the direction of prayer from Jerusalem to Mecca. Thus it uniquely contained two prayer niches...	Medina Medina Medina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...	Saudi Arabia	623	Sunni	Mosque of the two Qiblas
Jawatha Mosque Jawatha Mosque Jawatha Mosque is located in the village of Al-Kilabiyah, about 12km northeast of Hofuf, Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia. It was the earliest mosque built in east Arabia and most of the original structure is in ruins. The site is still used for prayer.It was built the in seventh year of hijra Jawatha...	Al-Kilabiyah Al-Kilabiyah Al-Kilabiyah is a village in eastern Saudi Arabia in Al-Ahsa and one of the eastern villages. It is located about 10 km from Al-Hofuf....	Saudi Arabia	629	n/a	(defunct)
Masjid al-Haram Masjid al-Haram Al-Masjid al-Ḥarām is the largest mosque in the world. Located in the city of Mecca, it surrounds the Kaaba, the place which Muslims worldwide turn towards while performing daily prayers and is Islam's holiest place...	Mecca Mecca Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...	Saudi Arabia	638	Islam	Site of pilgrimage, rebuilt in 1571
Great Mosque of Kufa	Kufa Kufa Kufa is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000....	Iraq	639	Shia
Mosque of Uqba	Kairouan Kairouan Kairouan , also known as Kirwan or al-Qayrawan , is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia. Referred to as the Islamic Cultural Capital, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city was founded by the Arabs around 670...	Tunisia	670	Sunni	rebuilt in 800s
Cheraman Juma Masjid Cheraman Juma Masjid Cheraman Juma Masjid is a mosque in Methala, Kodungallur Taluk in the Indian state of Kerala. The Cheraman Masjid is said to be the very first mosque in India, built in 629 AD by Malik lbn Dinar. But, according to Nathan Katz, the accuracy of these claims is uncertain. It is believed that this...	Kodungallur Kodungallur Kodungallur is a municipality in Thrissur District, in the state of Kerala, India on the Malabar Coast. Kodungallur is located about 29 km northwest of Kochi city and 38 km Southwest of Thrissur, on National Highway 17 . Muziris the ancient seaport at the mouth of the Periyar River was...	India		Sunni	Locally considered to be the first mosque of India; reliability of sources unclear
Imam Hussain Mosque	Karbala Karbala Karbala is a city in Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governorate, and has an estimated population of 572,300 people ....	Iraq Iraq Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....	680	Shia	reconstructed several times, including in 1016
Al-Aqsa Mosque Al-Aqsa Mosque Al-Aqsa Mosque also known as al-Aqsa, is the third holiest site in Sunni Islam and is located in the Old City of Jerusalem...	Jerusalem		705	Sunni
Al-Zaytuna Mosque	Tunis Tunis Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....	Tunisia	709	Sunni
Umayyad Mosque Umayyad Mosque The Umayyad Mosque, also known as the Great Mosque of Damascus or formerly the Basilica of Saint John the Baptist , is located in the old city of Damascus, is one of the largest and oldest mosques in the world...	Damascus Damascus Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...	Syria	715	Shia, Sunni	National Mosque
Great Mosque of Xi'an	Xi'an Xi'an Xi'an is the capital of the Shaanxi province, and a sub-provincial city in the People's Republic of China. One of the oldest cities in China, with more than 3,100 years of history, the city was known as Chang'an before the Ming Dynasty... , Shaanxi Shaanxi ' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...	China	742		Although remains date mostly from the 18th century, the Mosque was founded in 742

Afghanistan

Haji Piyada
Haji Piyada
Haji Piyada Mosque or Noh Gonbad Mosque , a Samanid-style building in Balkh province of northern Afghanistan. Built in the ninth century, it is thought to be the earliest Islamic building in the country....

, built in the second half of the 9th century, oldest Islamic building in Afghanistan

Australia

Central Adelaide Mosque
Central Adelaide Mosque
The Adelaide Mosque was built in 1888, and is the oldest major city mosque in Australia. Its original four minarets were added in 1903. Muslims from as far away as Broken Hill and Kalgoorlie gathered at least once a year at the Adelaide Mosque, usually for the Fast of Ramadan...

, the oldest major city mosque built in 1888. However, the ﬁrst mosque in Australia was built at Marree in northern South Australia in 1861.

Bangladesh

Sixty Dome Mosque, built in 14th century, one of the oldest mosques in Bangladesh

Canada

Al-Rashid Mosque
Al-Rashid Mosque
The Al-Rashid Mosque was the first mosque built in Canada. It was constructed in Edmonton, Alberta.-History:Al-Rashid Mosque was expected to be the first mosque in North America but was built in 1938 just after the Mother Mosque of America in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and several years after the 1929...

, built in 1938, first purpose built mosque

China

Great Mosque of Xi'an, built in 742, oldest mosque in China .

Egypt

Mosque of Amr ibn al-As
Mosque of Amr ibn al-As
The Mosque of Amr ibn al-As , also called the Mosque of Amr, was originally built in 642 AD, as the center of the newly-founded capital of Egypt, Fustat...

, built in 642, oldest mosque in Africa

France

Paris Mosque
Paris Mosque
The Grande Mosquée de Paris , located in the 5th arrondissement, is the largest mosque in France and the third largest in Europe. It was founded after World War I as a sign of France's gratefulness to the colonies's Muslim tirailleurs, 100,000 of whom died fighting against Germany...

, built in 1926, oldest mosque in France

Germany

Berlin Mosque, built in 1924, oldest mosque building in Germany

India

Cheraman Juma Masjid
Cheraman Juma Masjid
Cheraman Juma Masjid is a mosque in Methala, Kodungallur Taluk in the Indian state of Kerala. The Cheraman Masjid is said to be the very first mosque in India, built in 629 AD by Malik lbn Dinar. But, according to Nathan Katz, the accuracy of these claims is uncertain. It is believed that this...

, date uncertain but purportedly in 7th century, one of the oldest mosques in India
Old Jumma Masjid of Kilakarai, 11th century, one of the oldest mosques
Kazimar Big Mosque
Kazimar Big Mosque
Kazimar Periya Pallivasal or Kazimar Big Mosque is a famous mosque located at the heart of Madurai city, within 500 metres of the Periyar bus stand and within 1 kilometre South East of the Madurai Junction and 800 meters south west of the Meenakshi Temple...

in Madurai
Madurai
Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...

. Built in 13th century second oldest mosque in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

Indonesia

Agung Demak Mosque, built in 15th century, one of the oldest mosques in Indonesia

Iran

Jameh Mosque of Ferdows, built possibly in 7th century

Netherlands

Mobarak Mosque (The Hague), built in 1955, first purpose built mosque in Holland

Saudi Arabia

Masjid al-Haram
Masjid al-Haram
Al-Masjid al-Ḥarām is the largest mosque in the world. Located in the city of Mecca, it surrounds the Kaaba, the place which Muslims worldwide turn towards while performing daily prayers and is Islam's holiest place...

, built ca. 7th century, oldest mosque in Saudi Arabia
Quba Mosque
Quba Mosque
The Quba Mosque in the outlying environs of Medina in Saudi Arabia, is the oldest mosque in the world. Its first stones were positioned by the Islamic prophet Muhammad on his emigration from the city of Mecca to Medina and the mosque was completed by his companions...

, built in 7th century, oldest mosque in the world

Singapore

Masjid Omar Kampong Melaka
Masjid Omar Kampong Melaka
Masjid Omar Kampong Melaka is a mosque in Singapore, and is located at Keng Cheow Street in the Singapore River Planning Area, within the Central Area, Singapore's central business district....

, built in 1820

Thailand

300 Years Mosque
300 Years Mosque
The 300 Years Mosque is located in Ban Talo Mano, Tambon Subo Sawo. It is 25 kilometres from the city of Narathiwat, Thailand....

, built in 1600s, possibly oldest mosque in Thailand

Turkey

Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey...

, built in 537 as a Christian church, later converted to a mosque in 1453, now a museum

United Kingdom

Masjid-e-Abu Hurairah (Wales), built in 1860, oldest mosque in UK
Shah Jahan Mosque
Shah Jahan Mosque
The Shah Jahan Mosque is the first purpose-built mosque in Britain built 1889 in Woking, 30 miles south-west of London in Oriental Road.-Construction:...

(England), built in 1889, oldest purpose built mosque in England
Fazl Mosque (England), built in 1924, oldest purpose built mosque in London

United States

Al-Sadiq Mosque
Al-Sadiq Mosque
The Al Sadiq Mosque was commissioned in 1922 in the Bronzeville neighborhood in city of Chicago. This mosque was funded with the money donated by African-American converts and Ahmadis in India.-Chicago Muslim Mission:...

, commissioned in 1922, in Chicago, Illinois
Mother Mosque of America
Mother Mosque of America
The Mother Mosque of America, once known as The Rose of Fraternity Lodge and also known as Moslem Temple, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States, is the longest standing mosque in North America...

, built in 1934, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Yemen

Great Mosque of Sana'a, built in 7th century, possibly oldest mosque
Al-Janad mosque, built in 7th century, possibly oldest mosque

External links and references

International Architecture database

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