Photos: Algeria Unveils Africa’s Largest Mosque

Algeria has showcased an expansive mosque on its Mediterranean shoreline after experiencing years of political instability that hampered its construction timeline.

The Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune inaugurated the mosque on Sunday, as reported by the Associated Press.

According to the AP, the Great Mosque of Algiers, built by a Chinese construction firm throughout the 2010s, features an enormous 265-meter (869-foot) minaret and can accommodate up to 120,000 worshippers.

The mosque was reported to rank third in size worldwide, first in Africa, and the largest outside Islam’s most sacred cities. It has a helicopter landing pad and a library that can store up to one million books.

Besides its significant size, the mosque attracted attention due to the numerous delays and disputes that characterized its seven-year construction period, notably the controversy surrounding the site selection, which experts warned was susceptible to seismic activity.

Former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika initiated the mosque project intending to establish it as the largest in Africa, intending it as his lasting legacy and proposing to name it “Abdelaziz Bouteflika Mosque,” akin to the Mosque Hassan II in Casablanca, Morocco, previously promoted as the continent’s largest.

The project’s official cost totalled $898 million. Below are the pictures of the Great Mosque of Algiers.