This visual essay looks at two mosques in Dakar, capital of Senegal. Although Senegal has a longstanding Islamic tradition, it had not developed in the pre-colonial era a tradition of mosque building in the way that can be seen in countries like Morocco or Egypt. The oldest standing mosques in Senegal were actually built by the French along the model of their cathedrals. This has meant that since independence in 1960 Senegal has had to develop a tradition of mosque building. This is an examination of two answers to the question of what a Senegalese mosque should look like.
