Sokoto Grand Mosque

Sokoto, Nigeria

The central mosque of Sokoto, seat of the Sultan of Sokoto who is the spiritual leader of Nigeria's Muslims and the successor to the founders of the Sokoto Caliphate.

Historical Context

The Sokoto Caliphate was established by Usman dan Fodio in 1804 through a reformist jihad that sought to purify Islamic practice in the Hausa states. The caliphate united a vast territory under an Islamic government that produced a remarkable body of scholarship in Arabic, Fulfulde, and Hausa.