Mosques are sacred places but not without beauty. Because Islam is the fastest growing religion, mosques are found in every corner of the world, and their forms and buildings vary according to the history and architecture of the city in which they are located.

There is of course the historical form of the mosque, but on the other side there are mosques with new and unique architectural forms, unlike the traditional form of mosques. These are some of the following:

Mosque of Gul Sharif (Russia)
The mosque was first built during the 16th century in Kazan, where the Muslim majority predominates. The Muslims then spoke the language of the Tatars, built the mosque - which is known as the largest mosque in Europe - as a symbol of the power of Tatars in that era.

In 1552, Ivan the Terrible took over all of Russia, stormed Kazan and destroyed the mosque.

The mosque was named after the teacher, "Gul Sharif," who died alongside his students as they tried to save the mosque from the terrible forces of Ivan, and remained empty for centuries.

In 1996, a project to rebuild the mosque began with the help of many countries, such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

The mosque was reopened in 2005 and became one of Kazan's iconic landmarks.

The mosque houses a library, a publishing house and an Imam's office, and is seen as a large Islamic museum, not just a mosque.

The mosque resembles the mythical castles with its tall, pointed minarets and turquoise blue color. It houses six thousand worshipers. Its architecture is a combination of the old Kazan architecture and the modern Islamic architecture.

Hassan II Mosque (Casablanca)
The foundation stone of the mosque was laid in 1987 and continued for a period of six years until 1993, with an area of ​​90 thousand square meters and accommodating about 105 thousand worshipers.

The minaret rises to 200 meters, an Andalusian minaret and the highest minaret in the world.

The mosque is designed in the water overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, so that if the worshiper kneels under the sea, if he raises his head up the sky, because the roof of the mosque is moving, open and close automatically.

The mosque has nine large doors, topped with glazed windows. The large entrance is located in the southern façade of the mosque, which starts from the main gate and extends lengthwise until it reaches the minaret, which is distinguished by its height and square Andalusian shape.

"Larabanga" mosque in Ghana (networking sites)

Mary Mosque (Australia)
Historical mosques are always something that enriches them and makes them more luxurious in their style or architecture. But Mary's mosque, on the contrary, has a simple, squalid design, and is closer to poor desert huts.

The mosque was built in southern Australia in 1882 by Afghan Muslims who lived there. They came from Afghanistan, the Middle East and even from British India at the time, and they were involved in raising and trading camels.

The Mosque of Mary is the first mosque to be built in Australia. It is important not only because it represents an important historical landmark but also as a symbol of the development of Muslim immigrants and how the collective effort of the Muslim community helped build the city of Mary itself.

Mosque of Larrabanga (Ghana)
Larrabanga is the oldest mosque in West Africa, and has survived for centuries despite bad weather and poor reconstruction projects.

The legend says that Ayuba, a Maghreb merchant, traveled through the desert in 1421 and spent a night in the village of Larrabanga, where he received a message in a dream that a mosque should be built in the village.

The mosque was built on a typical Sudanese coastal plain, with mud and wooden poles, with four sides. Each side has a separate entrance: one for men, one for women, the third for the head of Larrabanga and the last for the muezzin.

By the 1970s, the mosque had deteriorated badly and needed to be rebuilt. The cement restoration team used cement to hopefully strengthen the walls, but the mixture allowed the moisture to break through the old wooden beams, and the storms swept away its fragile minaret.

The mosque was then restored with the support of the World Monuments Fund and the Ghana Museums Council, with the help of professional experts who removed the cement mixture and used clay paste to restore the mosque and restore it to its original form.