Question

What did contact with Islam inspire King Koi Konboro to do at the Great Mosque of Djenne?

Answer 1

The Great Mosque that we see today is its third reconstruction, completed in 1907. According to legend, the original Great Mosque was probably erected in the 13th century, when King Koi Konboro—Djenné'stwenty-sixth ruler and its first Muslim sultan (king)—decided to use local materials and traditional design techniques.

Answer 2

According to tradition, the first mosque in Djenné was built in the thirteenth century by the king Koi Konboro after his conversion to Islam. When a second mosque was erected in the nineteenth century, the first was abandoned and left to deteriorate. As a result, very little is known about its appearance. In 1906–07, a third mosque, funded by the French and said to be modeled after the thirteenth-century building, was raised on the site where the original once stood; it is this building that is known as the Great Mosque.