Three historic mosques in Tanzania including the one near Kizimkazi on the island of Zanzibar has been restored by the support received from the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation. Kizimkazi mosque is considered one of the oldest Islamic buildings on the coast of east Africa. The 2008 grant allowed for repairs and restoration of the mosque's roof, ceiling, doors and windows as well as the mihrab, the ornate alcove that indicates the direction of Mecca.
The Kizimkazi mosque is old enough to show the roots of Islam in the region. Most of the mosque dates to a reconstruction in the 18th century — as proclaimed in an Arabic inscription from that time — but inscriptions near the mihrab that are in Kufic, an older form of Arabic script, put the date of construction in the 12th century, and some design elements of the mosque reflect the influence of Persia. Islam arrived in southeastern Africa with traders from Arabia and Persia, 3,500 miles (5,633 kilometers) to the north.
Zanzibar attracts a lot of tourists who also visit the town as the launching point for dolphin tours. The mosque bearing Persian and Swahili architecture had fallen into disrepair due to the harsh climate.
A U.S. official who visited Pemba to discuss plans for the project “heard many complaints about the hardships of life in these villages, including the problem of having no access to fresh water,” the proposal said. “But when asked which was a higher priority for the community — access to fresh water or restoration of their historic mosque — the village elders unanimously stated that restoring the mosques was more important,”
reported news portal afrik.com\
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