Driving along the Kanda Highway or the Ring Road East overpass in the heart of Accra, the traveler's eye is immediately captured from kilometers away by four slender white stone minarets soaring 65 meters into the West African sky around a cascading pyramid of silver-gray lead domes: the Ghana National Mosque, Accra, formally consecrated under the Arabic name Masjid Al-Furqan (Al-Furqan Mosque).
Whereas the fifteenth-century earthen Larabanga Mosque in the northern Savannah Region embodies the ancient Sudano-Sahelian mud-and-timber architecture carried southward by Wangara/Dyula traders centuries ago, the Ghana National Mosque in Kanda, Accra stands as the grandest modern monument of Islam in Ghana and the second-largest mosque complex in all of West Africa, capable of accommodating up to 15,000 worshippers inside its main hall and marble courtyard. Built between 2012 and 2021 to replace the historic Accra Central Mosque at Makola that had been demolished in 1982, and solemnly inaugurated on July 16, 2021 through the partnership of Turkish and Ghanaian foundations, the complex houses the official seat of Ghana's beloved centenarian National Chief Imam, Sheikh Dr. Osman Nuhu Sharubutu.
IAlmighty Allah, the Title Al-Furqan, and the Interfaith Harmony Embodied by National Chief Imam Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu
Grounded in the pure monotheism (Tawhid) of Islam, the Ghana National Mosque in Accra is consecrated to the worship of Almighty Allah, the One Creator and Sustainer of the worlds. At its solemn inauguration on July 16, 2021, the sanctuary was also given the formal title Masjid Al-Furqan. In Qur'anic theology, Al-Furqan (the title of the twenty-fifth Surah of the Holy Qur'an) means 'The Criterion' that distinguishes truth from falsehood and light from darkness, reminding believers that true worship must bear fruit in justice, honesty, and compassion toward all humanity.
In the Republic of Ghana, where Muslims constitute approximately 18 to 20 percent of the national population (with deep historical roots in the Northern, Savannah, North East, and Upper West regions as well as the vibrant urban Zongo quarters of Accra and Kumasi), the Ghana National Mosque serves as a unifying house of prayer where Dagomba, Gonja, Wala, Mamprusi, Hausa, Yoruba, Kotokoli, and Akan Muslims stand shoulder to shoulder in a single congregation.
The spiritual heart of the Ghana National Mosque is inseparable from the moral authority and life witness of the National Chief Imam and Grand Mufti of the Republic of Ghana, His Eminence Sheikh Dr. Osman Nuhu Sharubutu (born in April 1919 in the historic Cow Lane quarter of Old Accra). A renowned scholar of Qur'anic exegesis (Tafsir), Maliki jurisprudence, Arabic literature, and Tijaniyyah Sufi spirituality, Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu has served as National Chief Imam of Ghana since 1993.
Situated directly within the 40-acre Kanda campus is the official residence and headquarters of the Office of the National Chief Imam (ONCI). Now over a century old, Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu is revered by Muslims and Christians alike as the moral conscience of the nation: in April 2019, to mark his 100th birthday, the National Chief Imam famously visited Christ the King Catholic Church in Accra during Easter Sunday Mass to embrace the parish priest and congregation in a gesture of interfaith brotherhood, while Catholic prelates from Holy Spirit Cathedral, Accra and Protestant leaders regularly join him at the National Mosque in Kanda to celebrate national peace and unity.
A Forty-Year Journey from the 1982 Demolition of the Makola Central Mosque to the 2021 Kanda Sanctuary. The story behind the Ghana National Mosque spans nearly four decades of resilience by the Muslim community of Accra. In the 1920s, during the British colonial era, Muslim merchants and elders in Accra built the historic Accra Central Mosque near the bustling Makola Market in the old commercial core of the capital. In 1982, however, the military government demolished the Makola Central Mosque to clear land for the Rawlings Park parking and commercial redevelopment project, leaving the capital's Muslim community without a central congregational mosque.
In the mid-1990s, to resolve the long-standing grievance over the lost Makola site, the Government of Ghana allocated a 16-hectare (40-acre) parcel of land along the Kanda Highway (strategically bordering the historic Muslim neighborhoods of Nima and Kanda) for a new national mosque. After local fundraising efforts struggled for over a decade to match the scale of the project, a breakthrough occurred in 2012 when the Turkish Aziz Mahmud Hudayi Foundation (Hudayi Vakfi), in partnership with the Presidency of Religious Affairs of Turkey (Diyanet Foundation - TDV), agreed to finance and construct a monumental new national mosque complex as a gift of friendship from the Turkish people to the people of Ghana, culminating in its grand opening on July 16, 2021.
Because of its cascading domes, four pencil minarets, and blue interior tilework, many visitors describe the Ghana National Mosque in Kanda simply as a replica of Istanbul's Blue Mosque. In architectural reality, the Turkish architects designed the mosque as a synthesis of two supreme Ottoman masterpieces from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries: while its four three-balconied minarets and blue Iznik-style ceramic dados pay homage to the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (the Blue Mosque, completed in 1616 in Istanbul), its structural core, featuring a single sweeping 33-meter central dome resting on an octagonal ring of eight massive piers to create an unified, column-free prayer hall, is modeled directly upon the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne (completed in 1575 by the master Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan).
IIChronology from the 1920s Makola Central Mosque to the Solemn Inauguration on July 16, 2021
The creation of the Ghana National Mosque connects the twentieth-century urban history of Accra's Zongo communities with the twenty-first-century architectural renaissance along the Kanda Highway.
- 1920s to 1982Era of the historic Accra Central Mosque at Makola and its demolition in 1982Built in the 1920s in downtown Accra near Makola Market, the original Accra Central Mosque serves for over half a century as the capital's principal Friday mosque until it is demolished by authorities in 1982 to make way for the Rawlings Park parking lot.
- 1995 to 2011Allocation of the 40-acre Kanda Highway site and early community fundraisingIn the mid-1990s, the Government of Ghana grants a 16-hectare (40-acre) plot at Kanda in compensation for the demolished Makola mosque; National Chief Imam Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu and Muslim leaders initiate local fundraising for a new central mosque.
- 2012 to 2016Commencement of construction in classical Ottoman style funded by the Hudayi and Diyanet FoundationsIn 2012, with full financial and engineering support from the Turkish Aziz Mahmud Hudayi Foundation and the Diyanet Foundation (TDV), construction begins on the monumental Ottoman-style complex; the President of Turkey visits the rising structure in March 2016.
- 2017 to Early 2021Execution of the interior Thuluth calligraphy, Iznik tilework, marble courtyard, and social facilitiesMaster Turkish calligraphers, dome painters (kalem isi artisans), and marble masons work alongside Ghanaian engineers to complete the 33-meter dome interior, the four 65-meter minarets, the Chief Imam's residence, the library, and the medical clinic.
- July 16, 2021Grand Inauguration of the Ghana National Mosque (Masjid Al-Furqan) in AccraOn Friday, July 16, 2021 (just ahead of Eid al-Adha), the Ghana National Mosque is formally inaugurated and hosts its first Friday congregational prayer led by National Chief Imam Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu in the presence of President Nana Akufo-Addo, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, and international delegates.
Serving the Historic Zongo Communities of Nima, Mamobi, and Kanda. The placement of the Ghana National Mosque along the Kanda Highway carries deep social significance for the urban fabric of Accra. Immediately adjacent to the western and northern boundaries of the mosque campus lie Nima and Mamobi, the largest and most historic Muslim neighborhoods (known in Ghana as Zongos, from the Hausa word for the caravan encampments established by Sahelian traders in the nineteenth century) in southern Ghana. Prior to 2021, tens of thousands of worshippers in Nima, Mamobi, and Kanda had to spread prayer mats across narrow alleys and busy streets during Friday Jumu'ah and Eid prayers for lack of an adequate sanctuary; today, the 40-acre complex provides a dignified spiritual, educational, and medical anchor at the heart of the city.
IIIClassical Ottoman Imperial Architecture: The 33-Meter Dome, Four 65-Meter Pencil Minarets, Marble Courtyard, and Kulliye Social Complex
Occupying a 16-hectare (40-acre) campus with a main mosque footprint of approximately 4,000 square meters, the Ghana National Mosque is the largest work of sixteenth-century Classical Ottoman Imperial architecture in West Africa, combining white Turkish and Carrara marble, lead-sheathed domes engineered for the tropical Atlantic climate, hand-painted arabesques, and Iznik ceramic tilework.
At the heart of the sanctuary rises the monumental central dome reaching 33 meters above the prayer hall floor, supported on an octagonal system of eight massive piers inspired by Mimar Sinan's Selimiye Mosque in Edirne. Buttressing the main dome are four half-domes (semi-domes) and a rhythmic cascade of smaller cupolas sheathed in weather-resistant gray lead plates, pierced around their drums by rings of arched stained-glass windows that fill the interior with natural light.
Framing the four corners of the mosque are four soaring white stone minarets built in the classic slender Ottoman 'pencil' profile, rising to a height of 65 meters and capped by conical lead spires visible across the Accra skyline. In keeping with the highest rank of imperial mosques in Istanbul and Edirne, each of the four minarets features three sculpted stalactite-vaulted balconies (muqarnas sherefe), making a total of twelve balconies.
Extending before the main prayer hall is a spacious rectangular courtyard (avlu) enclosed on four sides by a domed portico supported on polished white marble columns with muqarnas capitals. Paved in heat-reflecting white marble capable of accommodating thousands of additional worshippers during Friday and Eid prayers, the courtyard centers on an octagonal domed ablution fountain pavilion (Shadirvan) for ritual washing (Wudu).
Stepping through the mother-of-pearl-inlaid wooden doors (kundekari) into the vast column-free prayer hall, visitors behold a canopy of classical Ottoman decorative art: the concave surfaces of the 33-meter dome and semi-domes are hand-painted in the traditional kalem isi brush technique in turquoise, cobalt, gold, and crimson floral arabesques framing monumental Thuluth calligraphic roundels of Qur'anic verses, the names of Allah and the Prophet Muhammad, and the Rashidun Caliphs. The lower walls and the carved white Marmara marble Mihrab and Minbar are lined with blue-and-turquoise Iznik-style ceramic tiles above lush red wool carpets woven in Turkey.
Designed in the classical Ottoman tradition of a Kulliye (an integrated religious, educational, and charitable complex surrounding a grand mosque), the 40-acre campus includes the official Residence and Office Complex of the National Chief Imam of Ghana, a research library and conference center, a senior high school and madrasa dormitory block, a community medical clinic serving residents regardless of faith, and a modern ritual mortuary facility.
| Architectural Feature or Space | Location and Dimensions | Artistic Character and Communal Function |
|---|---|---|
| Main Prayer Hall and 33-Meter Central Dome | Center of complex (dome height 33 m, footprint 4,000 m2) | Octagonal pier structure after Mimar Sinan's Selimiye Mosque, adorned with hand-painted kalem isi and Thuluth calligraphy |
| Four Slender Pencil Minarets | Four corners of the mosque (65 m tall each) | Each minaret bears 3 carved muqarnas balconies (12 in total), dominating the skyline of central Accra |
| Domed White Marble Courtyard (Avlu) and Shadirvan | Forecourt preceding the main prayer hall | Ringed by marble-columned porticoes around a central ablution pavilion, bringing total capacity to 15,000 worshippers |
| Marmara Marble Mihrab, Minbar, and Women's Gallery | Northeastern Qibla wall and upper mezzanine | Carved white marble prayer niche and pulpit flanked by blue Iznik-style tiles; spacious upper gallery for women |
| Kulliye Campus: Chief Imam's Seat, Library, and Clinic | 40-acre Kanda Highway grounds | Houses the Office of the National Chief Imam (ONCI), library, school, and charitable medical clinic |
IVThe Lie of the Land and the Facing
It should be stated clearly that the Ghanaian Muslim leaders and Turkish architects who planned the Ghana National Mosque in 2012 did not practice East Asian geomancy (feng shui). The siting and orientation of the complex were governed by Islamic sacred law (aligning the Qibla axis strictly toward the Kaaba in Mecca) and urban planning along the Kanda Highway corridor of Accra. Below is a comparative landform reading from the Hall of Myriad Paths library.
Examined within the coastal plain topography of Accra at coordinates 5.5819 degrees north, 0.1931 degrees west, the Ghana National Mosque occupies a broad, well-drained elevated plateau in the Kanda district, situated approximately 4 kilometers north of the Gulf of Guinea coastline and looking northeastward toward the rising Legon hills and the distant Akuapem-Togo mountain range.
In terms of sacred orientation and landform harmony, from Accra in West Africa looking toward the Holy Kaaba in Mecca (located at 21.4225 degrees north, 39.8262 degrees east), the great-circle Qibla bearing is approximately 63.5 degrees East-Northeast. Accordingly, the entire rectangular axis of the forecourt and prayer hall is aligned from Southwest to East-Northeast: the main courtyard portal opens to the Southwest to receive the cooling sea breezes blowing inland from the Gulf of Guinea, while the Qibla wall housing the Mihrab and Minbar anchors the East-Northeast end of the sanctuary facing Mecca and aligned toward the rising Akuapem hills. Surrounded by its expansive 40-acre green campus as a wide outer bright hall (minh duong), the 33-meter dome and four 65-meter minarets stand completely unobstructed, serving as a visual and spiritual axis for Kanda, Nima, and all of Accra.
VFriday Congregational Prayers (Jumu'ah), Ramadan Nights of Tarawih, and National Eid Celebrations in Accra
Religious life at the Ghana National Mosque revolves around the five daily canonical prayers (Salat) and the Islamic lunar calendar (Hijri calendar), led by the Office of the National Chief Imam of Ghana.
| Islamic Calendar Date (Hijri) | Timing | Observance or Festival | Characteristic Rites at the Ghana National Mosque, Accra |
|---|---|---|---|
| Every Friday (c. 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM) | Weekly throughout the year | Friday Congregational Prayer (Salat al-Jumu'ah) | Thousands of worshippers from across Accra, together with cabinet ministers, parliamentarians, and diplomatic envoys, gather beneath the 33-meter dome for the Friday Khutbah sermon and collective prayer. |
| Ninth Month of the Hijri Calendar (Ramadan) | Moves approx. 11 days earlier each Gregorian year | Sacred Month of Ramadan, Daily Sunset Iftar, Tarawih Prayers, and Laylat al-Qadr | Every evening at sunset, thousands share communal Iftar meals in the marble courtyard, followed by nightly Tarawih prayers and all-night Qur'anic recitation on the Night of Power (27th of Ramadan). |
| 1 Shawwal (Tenth Hijri Month) | National Public Holiday in Ghana | Festival of Breaking the Fast (Eid al-Fitr) | Up to 15,000 worshippers clad in festive white and embroidered Babanriga, Jalabiya, and Kente robes fill the prayer hall and courtyard for the national Eid prayer led by the National Chief Imam in the presence of the President or Vice President of Ghana. |
| 10 Dhu al-Hijjah (Twelfth Hijri Month) | National Public Holiday in Ghana | Festival of Sacrifice (Eid al-Adha) and Anniversary of the Mosque's Inauguration (July 16, 2021) | Solemn Eid prayer commemorating the devotion of Prophet Ibrahim, followed by large-scale Qurbani meat distribution to thousands of underprivileged families across Nima, Mamobi, and Greater Accra. |
| 12 Rabi' al-Awwal (Third Hijri Month) | Annual Hijri observance | Commemoration of the Birth of the Prophet Muhammad (Mawlid al-Nabi) | Gatherings of Qur'anic recitation, prophetic panegyric poetry (Qasida), and interfaith lectures on peace and civic ethics hosted by the National Chief Imam. |
Communal Ramadan Iftar Gatherings and Interfaith Hospitality on the Kanda Highway. Since its inauguration in July 2021, the Ghana National Mosque has become a vibrant symbol of Ghanaian hospitality and interfaith dialogue. Throughout the holy month of Ramadan, long rows of tables are set out each evening across the white marble courtyard beneath the four 65-meter minarets to serve free Iftar meals to thousands of fasting Muslims, students, travelers, and needy neighbors, as well as visiting delegations from the Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian, and Pentecostal churches. When the melodious call to prayer (Adhan) echoes from the twelve minaret balconies across the Kanda and Nima skyline at dusk, the National Mosque stands as a testament to the peaceful coexistence that defines modern Ghana.
VILocation And How To Get There
- Address
- Kanda Highway (near Ring Road East and Nima), Kanda District, Accra, Greater Accra Region, Republic of Ghana
- Getting there
- The Ghana National Mosque occupies a prominent campus directly along the Kanda Highway near its intersection with the Ring Road East overpass in the Kanda district (bordering Nima) in central Accra. With its four 65-meter minarets dominating the skyline, it is one of the easiest landmarks to spot in the capital. From Kotoka International Airport (ACC, located just 5.5 kilometers east), a taxi or ride-hailing car (Uber / Bolt) takes only 10 to 15 minutes via the Airport Bypass and Ring Road East. From the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Adabraka, the mosque is an 8-to-10-minute taxi ride (3 kilometers) north along the Kanda Highway.
- Coordinates
- 5.5819, -0.1931
The Ghana National Mosque in Kanda is open daily for the five canonical prayers and warmly welcomes respectful non-Muslim visitors and international travelers outside main prayer times (the best visiting hours are mornings from 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM and afternoons from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM; visitors should avoid the busy Friday congregational prayer period between 12:00 PM and 2:00 PM). Modest Islamic dress etiquette is strictly required: women must wear long sleeves, ankle-length skirts or loose trousers, and a headscarf covering the hair (scarves and abayas are available to borrow at the visitor reception desk); men must wear long trousers covering the knees and shirts with sleeves. All visitors must remove their shoes and place them on the wooden racks before stepping onto the carpets of the prayer hall.
Nearby places in the library
VIIContribute To This Page
Contribute photos, information or video for Ghana National Mosque, Accra
Master Ưng Khiêm welcomes the community to enrich this page: a photograph taken on site, a historical detail not yet noted, or a short video. Every contribution is read and answered.
No community contribution yet. You could be the first.
?Quick Questions
How large is the Ghana National Mosque in Accra, and when was it inaugurated?
Set on a 16-hectare (40-acre) campus along the Kanda Highway with a 4,000-square-meter main mosque footprint, the Ghana National Mosque (Masjid Al-Furqan) accommodates up to 15,000 worshippers inside its prayer hall and marble courtyard, making it the second-largest mosque complex in West Africa. Begun in 2012, it was solemnly inaugurated on July 16, 2021.
Why was the Ghana National Mosque built at Kanda to replace an earlier historic mosque?
In the 1920s, Accra's Muslim community built the historic Accra Central Mosque near Makola Market in downtown Accra. In 1982, the military government demolished the Makola mosque to build the Rawlings Park parking and commercial project. In the 1990s, the Government of Ghana granted the 40-acre Kanda site to compensate the Muslim community, leading to the construction of the present National Mosque.
What architectural style inspired the Ghana National Mosque, and who funded its construction?
Funded and built by the Turkish Aziz Mahmud Hudayi Foundation in partnership with the Diyanet Foundation of Turkey, the mosque is designed in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Classical Ottoman Imperial style, combining the four three-balconied minarets and blue Iznik tilework of Istanbul's Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque) with the octagonal 33-meter dome structure of Mimar Sinan's Selimiye Mosque in Edirne.
How tall are the four minarets of the Ghana National Mosque?
The four slender Ottoman pencil-style minarets standing at the corners of the mosque rise to a height of 65 meters. Each minaret features three carved muqarnas balconies (twelve balconies in total), a classical architectural distinction reserved for major imperial and national mosques.
Who is Sheikh Dr. Osman Nuhu Sharubutu, and how is he connected to the National Mosque?
Born in April 1919 in Old Accra, Sheikh Dr. Osman Nuhu Sharubutu has served since 1993 as the National Chief Imam and Grand Mufti of the Republic of Ghana. Revered nationwide as a centenarian scholar and champion of Christian-Muslim peace, he has his official residence and headquarters (the Office of the National Chief Imam) within the Kanda National Mosque complex.
What community facilities are included on the 40-acre campus besides the prayer hall?
Planned as a traditional Ottoman Kulliye (social-welfare complex), the campus includes the official Residence and Office of the National Chief Imam, a research library and conference center, a senior high school and madrasa dormitory block, a ritual mortuary, and a community medical clinic open to all citizens.