The great mosque of Kano is the oldest mosque in Nigeria and was built for
Muhammad Rumfa in the 15th-century. It was made of mud, and was of the
soro, or tower, variety. Prior to Rumfa's reign and conversion to Islam, the central mosque of
Kano was located in two possible locations. The first possibility is the Sharifai quarter, inhabited by the descendants of the 15th-century
Berber scholar
al-Maghili. The second possibility is the Yan Doya quarter, inhabited by
Wangara muslims from the
Mali empire. It was moved to a new site by
Muhammad Zaki in 1582, and rebuilt in the mid 19th century by
Abdullahi Dan Dabo. After the
Sokoto jihad,
Emir Suleiman, who was regarded as the Imam of Kano, led Friday prayers himself in the mosque. Subsequent emirs have delegated the authority to an appointed Imam. It was destroyed in the 1950s, and rebuilt with British sponsorship. ==See also==