Sidi-Ghanem Mosque in Mila is the oldest in Africa

A researcher from the National Centre of Prehistoric, Anthropological and Historical Researches (CNRPAH), Dr. Hocine Taoutaou said Monday in Mila (around 400 km east of Algiers) that reliable chronological records confirm that Sidi-Ghanem Mosque in Mila is the oldest one in Africa. Speaking at a national colloquium devoted to the mosque of Abou El Mouhadjer Dinar (in reference to one of the companions of prophet Mohamed, Peace Be Upon Him), which is known as Sidi-Ghanem Mosque, Taoutaou underlined that the construction of this building dates back to the 8th century A.C. This colloquium, which is organized by the province’s Religious Affairs Directorate aims at “giving to this mosque the importance it deserves by answering the questions raised by religious scholars, historians and archeologists,” said the organizers. For his part, Ismail Samai, Professor of history and Muslim civilization at Emir-Abdelkader University of Constantine said that the choice of Mila, dubbed as the “second Carthage” by Abou El Mouahdjer Dinar, was related to economic factors in anticipation of the conquests which led him till Tlemcen.