Shitta-Bey Mosque is a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

, religious learning centre and one of the oldest mosques in Nigeria. The mosque is located at Martins Ereko Street,

Lagos Island Lagos Island (''Ìsàlẹ̀ Èkó'') is the principal and central local government area (LGA) in Lagos, it was the capital of Lagos State until 1957. It is part of the Lagos Division. As of the preliminary 2006 Nigerian census, the LGA had a pop ...

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

, Nigeria. It was established in 1892 and designated as National monument by Nigerian Commission for Museums and Monuments in 2013. The mosque, considered one of the most important historical legacies of Nigeria, Shitta-Bey Mosque was named after its founder

Sierra Leonean Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

-born Nigerian,

Mohammed Shitta Bey Chief Mohammed Shitta-Bey (c.1824 – 4 July 1895), alias Olowo Pupa, was the first titled Seriki Musulumi of Lagos. He was a prominent Nigerian Muslim businessman, aristocrat and philanthropist who was involved in commerce across Lagos and the ...

, who was an aristocrat, philanthropist and businessman.

History

The construction of the mosque started in 1891 and was financed by

, a businessman and philanthropist, son of

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

-born parents of Yoruba people, Yoruba descent. A Brazilian architect João Baptista da Costa oversaw the construction which was done with tile-work depicting the Afro-Brazilian architecture. The Shitta-Bey Mosque launched on July 4, 1894, at a ceremony presided over by Governor of Lagos, Sir Gilbert Carter. Others in attendance included Oba

Oyekan I Oba Oyekan I (died September 30, 1900) reigned as the Lagos Monarch from March 1885 - September 30, 1900. He ascended the throne about a month after the death of his father Oba Dosunmu. Prince Oyekan vs. Chief Apena Ajasa incident In 1883, Oba ...

Edward Wilmot Blyden Edward Wilmot Blyden (3 August 1832 – 7 February 1912) was a Liberian educator, writer, diplomat, and politician who was primarily active in West Africa. Born in the Danish West Indies, he joined the waves of black immigrants from the ...

Abdullah Quilliam William Henry Quilliam (10 April 1856 – 23 April 1932), who changed his name to Abdullah Quilliam and later Henri Marcel Leon or Haroun Mustapha Leon, was a 19th-century convert from Christianity to Islam, noted for founding England's first mo ...

(who represented Sultan

Abdul Hamid II Abdülhamid or Abdul Hamid II ( ota, عبد الحميد ثانی, Abd ül-Hamid-i Sani; tr, II. Abdülhamid; 21 September 1842 10 February 1918) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 31 August 1876 to 27 April 1909, and the last sultan to ...

of the Ottoman Empire), and prominent Lagosian Christians such as

James Pinson Labulo Davies James Pinson Labulo Davies (14 August 1828 – 29 April 1906) was a Nigerian businessman, merchant-sailor, naval officer, farmer, pioneer industrialist, statesman, and philanthropist who married Sara Forbes Bonetta in colonial Lagos. Early li ...

John Otunba Payne John Augustus Otunba Payne (1839 – 1906) was a Nigerian sheriff, administrator and diarist who was a prominent personality in Lagos during the nineteenth century. He was a Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court of Lagos and he also served as a re ...

, and

Richard Beale Blaize Richard Beale Blaize (November 22, 1845 – September 21, 1904) was a Nigerian-Sierra Leonean businessman, newspaper publisher, financier, and black nationalist of Sierra Leonean and Nigerian heritage. Early life Richard Olamilege Blaize was bor ...

as well as foreign representatives. Quilliam brought a letter accredited to the Sultan of Turkey asking Lagos Muslims to embrace Western education. It was at the launch that Mohammed Shitta was honored with the "

Bey Bey ( ota, بك, beğ, script=Arab, tr, bey, az, bəy, tk, beg, uz, бек, kz, би/бек, tt-Cyrl, бәк, translit=bäk, cjs, пий/пек, sq, beu/bej, sh, beg, fa, بیگ, beyg/, tg, бек, ar, بك, bak, gr, μπέης) is ...

" title, the Ottoman Order of Medjidie 3rd class (the highest class for a civilian) by Sultan

. Thereafter, Mohammed Shitta became known by the compounded name Shitta-Bey.

References

Bibliography

* {{coord missing, Nigeria Mosques completed in 1894 Mosques in Lagos Monuments and memorials in Lagos Landmarks in Lagos 1894 establishments in Lagos Colony Afro-Brazilian architecture