This mosque was built by the Sahabi, Uqba-bin-Nafe (may Allah be pleased with him) from 670 CE at the founding of the city of Kairouan in Tunisia.
- Uqba-bin-Nafe (may Allah be pleased with him) was a military general who began the Islamic conquest of the Maghreb, including present-day western Algeria and Morocco in North Africa. He used Kairouan as a base to mount operations. The mosque became an important center for Islamic and Quranic learning, and attracted a large number of Muslims from various parts of the world. The mosque is spread over a surface area of 900 square meters and is considered as a model for all later mosques in the Maghreb in the western Islamic world.
- Uqba-bin-Nafe (may Allah be pleased with him) was killed and buried near Biskra in Algeria.
