The Grand Mosque of Durrës ( Albanian: ''Xhamia e Madhe'') or New Mosque (''Xhamia e Re'') is a historic

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

n Mosque in the port-town of

Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the List of cities and towns in Albania#List, second most populous city of the Albania, Republic of Albania and county seat, seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is one of Albania's oldest ...

. It was built in 1931 under the Kingdomship of King Ahmed Zogu on the site of an older mosque from Ottoman times. By the day of its opening, it was the largest mosque in Albania. The architects were Italian as the result of an Italian-Albanian cooperation. The goal of the architecture of the building was to have influence from Islamic tradition while also incorporating Durrës-style columns. When the mosque was completed, there was a celebration which included many foreign delegations. The mosque was closed in 1967 under the dictatorship of

Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist revolutionary and politician who was the leader of People's Socialist Republic of Albania, Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was the Secretary (titl ...

and its minaret was torn down. Most other historic mosques of the Ottoman era were destroyed. From now on, the Main mosque was used as a so-called Youth Centre. It was damaged again in 1979 by an earthquake. With the help of the

International Islamic Relief Organization International Organization for Relief, Welfare and Development (Welfare; ), formerly known as the International Islamic Relief Organization or International Islamic Relief Organization of Saudi Arabia (IIROSA), is a charity based in Saudi Arabia ...

of the

Muslim World League The Muslim World League (MWL; ) is an international Islamic non-governmental organization based in Mecca, Saudi Arabia that promotes what it calls the true message of Islam by advancing moderate values. The NGO has been funded by the Saudi gov ...

, the mosque was reopened again in 1993. The Mosque is also called Grand Mosque in order to distinguish it from the Little Mosque - the Ottoman-era

Fatih Mosque The Fatih Mosque (, "Conqueror's Mosque" in English language, English) is an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman mosque off Fevzi Paşa Caddesi in the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey. The original mosque was constructed between 1463 and 1470 on the site ...

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Mosques in Albania Mosques completed in 1993 1931 establishments in Albania Buildings and structures in Durrës Tourist attractions in Durrës County Zog I Mosque buildings with domes in Albania Mosque buildings with minarets in Albania {{Albania-mosque-stub

See also

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