Jummah Mosque (Mauritius)

A house on one of the properties was temporarily used as a place of worship, while the mosque was being constructed. Ismael Jeewa led the prayers at the temporary prayer house. In 1853, a small mosque was built and consecrated. Bacosse Sobedar, imam of the Camp des Lascars Mosque, outlined the mihrab (prayer niche) of the new mosque, which came to be known for many years as the Mosquée des Arabes ("Mosque of the Arabs") – after its founders, whom the general public mistook for Arabs. The new mosque, which could accommodate some 200 worshippers, was the original Jummah Mosque.[3]

The growing Muslim population in Port-Louis was in need of a larger mosque and so between 1857 and 1877, seven different lots around the mosque, amounting to 0.30 hectares (3⁄4 acre), were successively bought by Muslim merchants for Rs 134,260 and donated to the mosque.[3] Part of the financing came from a two percent tax on grain trade[4] All but one of the deeds of purchase mentioned that the purchases were made on behalf of the whole Muslim community of Mauritius. In the end, the entire block around the mosque —bound by Royal, New Little Mountain (now Joseph Rivière), Queen and Little Mountain (now Jummah Mosque) Streets— became property of the Muslim community.[3]

The expansion works began in 1878 and were overseen by Jackaria Jan Mahomed. Artisans, led by Ishaq Mistry, and building materials were shipped from India, but disease among the workers and shortage of construction supplies delayed the completion until 1895. The enlarged mosque occupied an entire block, save for a small plot of land, which was leased to businesses.[4]

The mosque's architecture is a blend of Moorish and Mughal influences. The old former Mosque of the Arabs was incorporated as the main prayer hall in the expanded building, illuminated by glass chandeliers. An Indian almond or badamia tree stands in the middle of the mosque's courtyard and was already present on the two pieces of land that were purchased in 1852.[4]