Feb 25, 2019

Egypt is home to more than 100,000 mosques built in a variety of architectural styles, but now, all new mosques is the country will be built in a single style approved by the Egyptian Ministry of Endowments.

The Ministry announced on Feb. 7 that it will prepare an “Egyptian Code” for the design of mosques in a “unique and distinctive architectural style nationwide.” The architectural model is to be the product of a competition whose date has yet to be determined.

The decision comes as part of a series of measures by the government to “modernize” the look of the Egyptian cities. On Jan. 19 the Egyptian governorates, headed by Cairo governorate, started painting building facades in a uniform color for a “more modern” look.

“This design code for mosques comes as part of the government’s efforts to give mosques in Egypt a special character that emanates from Islamic history and civilization,” Gaber Taye, head of the Religious Department at the Ministry of Endowments, which is supervising the project, told Al-Monitor.

Taye added that according to the project — dubbed “The Egyptian Code” — only mosques that are designed in accordance with the guidelines will be granted construction permits. Taye has said that the new mosques will have places for people to attend Friday sermons as well as to gather or enjoy solitude.