Sub-Saharan Africa is home to an enormous number of religious adherents – within which there is extraordinary diversity in religious expression. Iconic buildings serving a religious purpose are found throughout the continent, such as The Cathedral Basilica of the Holy Family in central Nairobi or the Hare Krishna Temple in South Africa. What is evident is that architecture that hosts religious gatherings makes up a key part of the urban fabric of sub-Saharan African cities and that in a lot of cases, religious structures go against the grain – leaving aside or tweaking classical models in favor of a unique architectural approach.
This can be exemplified best by looking at the typology of mosques in sub-Saharan Africa. Islamic architecture had its origins as soon as the religion was formed in the 7th century, as religious functions – such as the call to prayer – were given architectural expression in the form of interventions such as the Minaret. This strong link between function and design means that in a lot of places, mosques have a fairly standard design, influenced by Roman, Byzantine, Persian, and Mesopotamian architecture. Many contemporary mosques in sub-Saharan Africa follow the model seen in the Middle East, but the presence of mosques that depart from that model necessitates a broadening of what the term that is “Islamic Architecture” entails.
