Arba'a Rukun

Mogadishu, Somalia

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Arba'a Rukun (also called Arba Rucun, meaning “Four Corners” or “Four Pillars”) is one of Mogadishu’s oldest and most historically significant mosques, located in the medieval Shangani district of Somalia’s capital.

Built around 1260–1269 CE (667 AH), it was constructed at the same time as the nearby Fakr ad-Din Mosque and stands on the former meeting site of Banadiri clan elders, where new sultans were once elected. The mosque’s name comes from its square layout with a pillar at each corner, and its mihrab still bears an inscription from its founding year commemorating its Persian founder, Khusra ibn Mubarak al-Shirazi (Khusrau ibn Muhammad), testifying to historic trade and cultural links between southern Persia and Mogadishu.

The mosque was heavily damaged during Somalia’s civil war but has been restored in recent years with major support from the Turkish government, which preserved the building’s historic small scale rather than expanding it. Today, Arba'a Rukun remains an active place of worship and a key example of medieval Somali Islamic architecture and Mogadishu’s long history as a center of Islamic learning and Indian Ocean trade.