IHH has opened two mosques and two Quran courses in Zanzibar island of Tanzania where there used to be no mosques and Quran courses. Now, the Muslims in the predominantly Muslim island will be able to perform their mass prayers easily. In addition, a new project has been developed for the construction of an orphanage complex on the island.
Zanzibar Island, which used to be the capital of the Kingdom of Oman, is now tied to Tanzania as an autonomous region. Although the number of Muslims in Tanzania is low, nearly all the residents of the Zanzibar Island are Muslims; however, due to financial reasons, there were not any mosques or Quran courses on the island where Muslims could pray together and teach Islamic sciences to their children.
IHH, which carries out various relief efforts to support the Muslims in Zanzibar, has inaugurated two mosques and Quran courses in the region.
IHH officials and charity givers who provided financial support to the construction of the mosques and Quran courses in Zanzibar attended the inauguration ceremony. The charity givers had emotional moments after seeing the mosques and Quran courses bearing their names.
The first mosque opened was the Hacı Talip Aktaş Mosque. It was constructed on an area of 300 square meters and has a capacity to host 600 people during mass prayers. Quran education will also be offered to children in the region from the mosque.
The other mosque which was opened is the Hacı Hanife Aksüs Mosque. It was built on an area of 150 square meters apart from its lavatories. The mosque has a capacity to host 300 people during mass prayers.
The names of the Quran courses which were opened are Kasımpaşa Emir Efendi Quran Course and Mehmet Hanönü Quran Course.
There are four classrooms at the Kasımpaşa Emir Efendi Quran Course and 120 students will receive Quran education there. Mehmet Hanönü Quran Course has six classrooms and will offer Quran education to 180 students. In addition to Quran education, students will be offered education on Islamic sciences at these courses.
The opening of the mosques and Quran courses led to a great joy among the residents of the island who had trouble in performing mass prayers. One of the villagers expressed his joy saying, “Ramadan is coming. We will perform taraweeh prayers in this village for the first time in this Ramadan. We used to go to a village which is kilometers away for taraweeh prayers in the past. Now, we will be able to hold mass prayers in our village. We offer our deepest thanks to the IHH and its donators. May Allah bless them.”
