Malabo Mosque ( es, link=no, Mezquita de Malabo) also known as Malabo Central Mosque ( es, link=no, Mezquita Central de Malabo) is a mosque in
Malabo
Malabo ( , ; formerly Santa Isabel) is the capital of Equatorial Guinea and the province of Bioko Norte. It is located on the north coast of the island of Bioko, ( bvb, Etulá, and as ''Fernando Pó'' by the Europeans). In 2018, the city had a p ...
, Equatorial Guinea. It is the largest mosque in Equatorial Guinea and can accommodate two thousand people.
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
and
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
built a mosque in Malabo sometime in the early 20th century. They sold
African masks
Traditional African masks play an important role in certain traditional African rituals and ceremonies.
Masks serve an important role in rituals or ceremonies with varied purposes like ensuring a good harvest, addressing tribal needs in times ...
and statues to
European settlers
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In general
* ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe
** Ethnic groups in Europe
** Demographics of Europe
** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...
and supplied plantation managers with imported goods such as medicine brought in from Nigeria. The mosque they built no longer exists, having been demolished due to its dilapidated state. It was replaced by a temporary mosque in the northern suburbs of Malabo.
In 2014, the First Lady of Equatorial Guinea, Constancia Mangue, agreed to finance the construction of a new mosque in the city. The approximate cost of the mosque was two billion Central African CFA francs or about three million
euro
The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
s.
On 21 July 2015, Malabo Mosque was officially opened by the President of Equatorial Guinea Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, his wife and the two vice presidents
Ikililou Dhoinine
Ikililou Dhoinine (, born 14 August 1962) is a Comoros, Comorian politician who was the President of the Comoros from 2011 to 2016; he was a Vice-President of Comoros from 2006 to 2011.
Political career
Dhoinine won the Comorian presidential elec ...
Mohamed Lamine Ould Ahmed
Mohamed Lamine Ould Ahmed ( ar, محمد لامين ولد أحمد; born 1947) is a Sahrawi politician, writer and member of the Polisario Front.
Since January 2012, he is the Minister of Health of the Sahrawi Republic.
Born in Smara and b ...
who was both the Minister of Health and Special Envoy to the African Summit on
Ebola
Ebola, also known as Ebola virus disease (EVD) and Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), is a viral hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates, caused by ebolaviruses. Symptoms typically start anywhere between two days and three weeks after becom ...
imam
Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...
s and preachers to the mosque as part of Egypt's role spreading the teachings of Islam. The imam and spiritual leader of the Muslim community of Equatorial Guinea, Pedro Benigno Matute Tang began the ceremony with words of thanks. In his inauguration ceremony speech, President Obiang said that the mosque will be an "Islamic beacon of coexistence" for "social and religious tolerance". He also said that Islam cannot be viewed as a "religion of terror, discrimination or extremism".
In 2020, two Equatoguinean Muslims were given
Samsung
The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
-branded products in an award ceremony at the mosque as part of a contest to encourage young people to read and study.