Juma Mosque, Islamic prayer center in central Durban, South Africa

The Juma Mosque, also known as the Grey Street Mosque, is a Sunni congregational mosque on Dr. Yusuf Dadoo Street. It is a large plastered structure of interlinking buildings, arcades and corridors, with a flat roof used for prayer during festivals and as a school playground on weekdays. Its two minarets, first built in 1904 and 1905, have gilt domes and rise above the commercial area. Inside, the marble worship hall is simple and peaceful.

In August 1881 Aboobaker Amod Jhaveri and Hajee Mohamed bought the Grey Street site from K. Munsamy for £115 and converted a small brick building there into a mosque. Hajee Mahomed Dada, the last surviving trustee, bought adjoining land in 1889 as worshippers increased. The first minaret rose in 1904, the second in 1905, and Payne & Payne rebuilt the mosque in 1927, with William Bruce Barboure contributing to the design in 1943.

The mosque is also called the Grey Street Mosque, after the road where it stands, now Dr. Yusuf Dadoo Street. On Fridays thousands of Muslims walk there for the jumu'ah prayer, and the building is described as the spiritual centre of Durban's Muslims. An Islamic school run by the mosque adjoins it, and a bridge links the neighbouring girls' school to the roof, which serves as its playground on school days.

You can visit this mosque on weekdays by planning ahead and exploring it with proper respect for the space. Make sure to wear appropriate clothing and follow the guidelines posted for guests.

This place of worship held the distinction of being the largest Islamic prayer house in the Southern Hemisphere until the late 1970s. Its capacity to hold several thousand worshippers made it an extraordinary architectural achievement of its era.