Destroyed mosques and sacred places
Mosques, madrasas, shrines and cemeteries destroyed or seized, with sources.
Mosques of Cambodia destroyed
According to Cham sources, the Khmer Rouge destroyed 132 mosques and desecrated many others; Muslims could not practise their faith. By early 1988 only 20 of 113 prominent Cham clergy had survived.
Source: Wikipedia: Cambodian genocide
Kattankudy mosque massacre
On 3 August 1990 gunmen stormed the Meera Jumma and Hussainiya mosques in Kattankudy during evening prayers, firing machine guns and throwing grenades. About 140 worshippers were killed and 125 wounded (later counts over 147). The LTTE was blamed and denied it.
Source: Human Rights Watch (Asia Watch) · Wikipedia: Kattankudy mosque massacre
Aladža Mosque, Foča
The 16th-century Aladža (Painted) Mosque in Foča was blown up by Bosnian Serb forces in 1992. It was rebuilt and reopened in May 2019; its destruction is the only mosque case Bosnian prosecutors have indicted.
Source: LA Review of Books: Bosnia's Mosques Without Muslims · Anadolu: Alaca Mosque, historic pearl of Bosnia, rises again
Mosques destroyed in the Bosnian war
Bosnia's Islamic Community counts 614 mosques destroyed and 307 damaged in the 1992–95 war, about 80% of the country's mosques, plus 218 prayer rooms.
Source: Anadolu: Bosnia marks annual Day of Mosques · RFE/RL: mosque destroyed in Bosnian war reopens in Banja Luka
Babri Masjid demolished
On 6 December 1992 a Hindu nationalist crowd tore down the 16th-century Babri Masjid in Ayodhya; riots that followed across India killed about 2,000 people, mostly Muslims. In 2019 the Supreme Court called the demolition an egregious violation of the rule of law but gave the site to a trust for a Ram temple, with 5 acres elsewhere for a mosque.
Source: The New Arab · LiveLaw
Arnaudija Mosque, Banja Luka
The Arnaudija Mosque in Banja Luka was blown up about 15 minutes after the Ferhadija, on the night of 6–7 May 1993.
Source: Wikipedia: Ferhat Pasha Mosque (Banja Luka) · RFE/RL: mosque destroyed in Bosnian war reopens in Banja Luka
Ferhadija Mosque, Banja Luka
Bosnian Serb forces blew up the 16th-century Ferhat Pasha (Ferhadija) Mosque in Banja Luka on the night of 6–7 May 1993. It reopened on 7 May 2016, 23 years to the day.
Source: RFE/RL: Banja Luka Ferhadija mosque reopens · Wikipedia: Ferhat Pasha Mosque (Banja Luka)
Ibrahimi mosque divided
After the massacre an Israeli inquiry split the mosque's prayer hall into a Muslim section and a section for settlers. Israel has also blocked the call to prayer there (599 times in 2020).
Source: Anadolu Agency
Missile hits Kalinina mosque
In the same 21 October 1999 strikes a missile hit the mosque in Kalinina, a Grozny suburb; about 41 people gathered for evening prayer were reported killed.
Mosques burned in Dar Masalit
Human Rights Watch documented at least 65 mosques burned in Dar Masalit; worshippers and imams were killed inside mosques at Urum, Mulli and Kondoli, and Qurans were torn up.
Krue Se mosque assault
On 28 April 2004 the army stormed the 16th-century Krue Se mosque in Pattani after a seven-hour standoff and killed all 32 armed men inside, against the defence minister's order to end it peacefully. A government commission found the forces over-reacted; a senator said most were shot in the head with signs of tied wrists.
Source: Wikipedia: Krue Se Mosque · Wikipedia: South Thailand insurgency
Yelwa: mosques burned
During the May 2004 attack on Yelwa the central mosque was destroyed and numerous other mosques were burned across the town, Human Rights Watch reported.
Al-Askari shrine bombed
Explosions destroyed the golden dome of the al-Askari shrine in Samarra; Iraqi officials blamed al-Qaeda. Sectarian reprisals followed, including attacks on Sunni mosques; the two minarets were blown up in 2007.
Shia mosques demolished in Bahrain
During the 2011 crackdown Bahraini authorities demolished 53 Shia religious structures according to information given to the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, which visited 30 sites, 28 of them mosques. Some were later rebuilt.
Source: USCIRF Annual Report 2012: Bahrain · Christian Science Monitor: Bahrain's Sunni rulers target Shiite mosques
Sidi Abdul-Salam al-Asmar mosque attacked
On 24 August 2012 assailants attacked the Sidi Abdul-Salam al-Asmar al-Fituri mosque and shrine in Zliten, causing heavy damage and destroying 700-year-old texts. The shrine of Sidi Ahmed Zaroug in Misrata was destroyed the same month.
Sufi mosques and tombs attacked in Tripoli
On 25 August 2012 attackers bulldozed parts of the Sidi Sha'ab mosque in central Tripoli and graves inside, while Interior Ministry forces surrounded the area without intervening. On 28 August the Uthman Basha mosque and madrasa in the old town was drilled and 30 graves destroyed.
Minaret of Aleppo's Umayyad Mosque destroyed
The 11th-century minaret of the Great (Umayyad) Mosque of Aleppo collapsed during fighting. Activists said a government tank shell hit it; state media blamed rebels.
Source: Al Jazeera
Khalid ibn al-Walid shrine shelled
Army shelling hit the mausoleum of Khalid ibn al-Walid in Homs, damaging the dome and the tomb; government troops took the mosque days later.
Sunni Eid prayers blocked in Tehran
Security forces blocked Sunni worshippers from Sadeghiyeh prayer site and several other places of worship in Tehran on Eid al-Fitr (9 August 2013) and surrounded the site again before Eid al-Adha in October. Since 1979 Sunnis in Tehran province have reportedly been denied permission to build and run mosques.
Source: Human Rights Watch: Iran: Lift Restrictions on Sunni Worship
Rabaa al-Adawiya Mosque destroyed
The Rabaa al-Adawiya Mosque, centre of the sit-in, was destroyed on 14 August 2013 when security forces cleared the square; bodies had been gathered in the nearby Iman Mosque. The mosque was later rebuilt under the armed forces.
Source: Wikipedia: Rabaa Al-Adawiya Mosque · HRW: All According to Plan (Raba massacre report)
About 400 mosques destroyed
Amnesty International estimated that about 400 mosques were destroyed across the Central African Republic in the 2013–2015 violence, and that in many western areas Muslims were not allowed to rebuild them.
Source: Amnesty International
Yaloké: mosques destroyed
Yaloké had an estimated 30,000 Muslims and eight mosques before the conflict. By 6 February 2014 fewer than 500 Muslims and one mosque remained; the others had been looted and destroyed.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Bangui PK13: main mosque burned
The main mosque of the PK13 district of Bangui was burned during an anti-balaka attack; by 22 January 2014 only 36 Muslim residents remained in the district.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Nabi Yunus mosque blown up
ISIS destroyed with explosives the historic mosque and shrine held to be the tomb of the prophet Yunus (Jonah) in Mosul.
Sunni prayer hall in Punak demolished
A Sunni prayer hall in the Punak area of Tehran was demolished in 2015 by municipal forces with police and security support, after security forces visited the hall and searched the imam's home. Sunnis have no mosque in Tehran.
Source: Radio Farda (Persian): 18 MPs criticize closure of a Sunni prayer hall · Radio Farda (Persian): Sunni clerics barred from travel
Aksa mosque bulldozed
The Aksa Sunni mosque in Ashgabat was bulldozed in April 2016 without consultation or compensation, the eighth of 14 Ashgabat mosques destroyed in recent years.
Source: Forum 18: Turkmenistan religious freedom survey, January 2017
Salehiyeh Sunni prayer hall closed
The Salehiyeh Sunni prayer hall in Eslamshahr near Tehran had its activities suspended and was not allowed to hold Eid al-Fitr prayers in 2016; Eid prayers were reportedly not allowed at the Tehran Pars site either. 18 members of parliament protested to the interior minister.
Source: Radio Farda (Persian): 18 MPs criticize closure of a Sunni prayer hall
Baku's Sunni mosques closed
On 25 July 2016 a police officer ordered the Sunni Lezgin Mosque and a Shia mosque in Baku's Old City closed for 'repairs'. By 2018 Forum 18 reported that all of Baku's Sunni mosques, including the Lezgin, Abu Bekr and Martyrs' (Turkish) mosques, had been closed; most mosques closed or demolished by the authorities have been Sunni.
Source: Forum 18: Mosques ordered to close for 'repairs' · Forum 18: Azerbaijan religious freedom survey, November 2018
Omar bin Khattab mosque in Qobustan closed
On 29 July 2016 police and State Security Service officers, on State Committee orders, forcibly closed the Sunni Omar bin Khattab mosque in Qobustan on Baku's southern edge; its leader was fined more than three months' wages.
Source: Forum 18: Police, officials close Sunni home mosques
1,938 mosques closed in one year
Tajikistan's religious affairs committee announced on 5 February 2018 that 1,938 mosques were closed in 2017 and turned to secular uses, including in Isfara and Bobojon-Gofurov District.
Source: Forum 18: Tajikistan religious freedom survey, December 2020
About 16,000 mosques damaged or destroyed
ASPI satellite research found about 16,000 mosques (65% of the total) damaged or destroyed, mostly since 2017, about 8,500 of them demolished outright. About 30% of important shrines, cemeteries and pilgrimage sites were demolished and 28% more damaged. China rejects the findings.
Source: The China Project: China has demolished thousands of mosques in Xinjiang, report says (ASPI) · Wikipedia: Xinjiang Data Project (ASPI)
Al-Nuri mosque and al-Hadba minaret destroyed
ISIS blew up the Great Mosque of al-Nuri, built in 1172, and its leaning al-Hadba minaret as Iraqi forces approached. It was rebuilt with UNESCO and the UAE.
Source: UN News (UNESCO) · The World (AP)
Mosques and villages razed for outposts
The UN-backed Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar reported on 29 September 2025 that after 2017 the military systematically destroyed Rohingya villages, mosques, cemeteries and farmland and built security outposts on the land, as at Inn Din, using official land records and private contractors.
Source: Reuters via The Star · The Financial Express (Reuters)
Imam Asim shrine stripped
At the Imam Asim shrine in the desert near Hotan the mosque was demolished and the flags, offerings and wooden railings removed, leaving only the tomb, by 2018–2019.
Source: Made in China Journal (Rian Thum): The Spatial Cleansing of Xinjiang
Keriya Aitika mosque gatehouse razed
Satellite images show the northern gatehouse of the Aitika mosque in Keriya, and a smaller building, removed between 19 and 20 March 2018; the prayer hall appears intact. Chinese state media say the site was turned into a plaza.
Source: Bellingcat: Are historic mosques in Xinjiang being destroyed?
Imam Je'firi Sadiq shrine destroyed
The Imam Je'firi Sadiq shrine on a dune about 75 km from Niya was destroyed between 10 and 17 March 2018, according to satellite imagery analysed by historian Rian Thum.
Source: Made in China Journal (Rian Thum): The Spatial Cleansing of Xinjiang
Austria orders seven mosques closed
In June 2018 Austria's government announced it would close seven mosques and expel imams in a campaign against 'political Islam' and foreign funding.
Source: LatestLY (AFP): Austrian government to close mosques, deport imams
Kargilik mosque demolished
Satellite imagery shows that a large part of the Kargilik mosque complex, including its gatehouse, was removed between September and December 2018.
Source: Bellingcat: Are historic mosques in Xinjiang being destroyed?
Ordam Padishah shrine erased
The Ordam Padishah shrine in the desert outside Yengisar, a pilgrimage site closed to mass pilgrimage since 1997, is gone in satellite imagery, the site left empty.
Source: Made in China Journal (Rian Thum): The Spatial Cleansing of Xinjiang · Wikipedia: Xinjiang Data Project (ASPI)
Jamia Masjid Srinagar shut
From 5 August 2019 authorities kept Srinagar's historic Jamia Masjid closed for Friday prayers for 19 weeks and held its imam, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, under house arrest for four years; the mosque has been shut on many Fridays since.
Source: The Kashmir Walla · The Wire
Nuri Islom mosque made a cinema
The Nuri Islom (Light of Islam) mosque in Khujand was confiscated and turned into a cinema in January 2020, despite protests by local Muslims.
Source: Forum 18: Tajikistan religious freedom survey, December 2020 · Forum 18: Tajikistan religious freedom survey, December 2023
Zavetnoye mosque raided and closed
On 20 March 2020 police raided the Zavetnoye mosque in Crimea after Friday prayers and closed it, saying it was a sports complex; Imam Dilyaver Khalilov was fined about a month's wage for leading prayers.
Source: Forum 18: Crimea religious freedom survey, September 2022
Grande Mosquée de Pantin closed
On 19 October 2020 the Seine-Saint-Denis prefect closed the Grande Mosquée de Pantin for six months over a Facebook post about teacher Samuel Paty; the Conseil d'État refused to suspend the closure.
Source: Conseil d'État: urgent applications judge rejects suspension of closure of Pantin mosque · Al Jazeera: France closes mosque in crackdown following teacher's killing
Sunni mosque foundations demolished in Iranshahr
On 23 January 2021 the foundations of a Sunni mosque under construction in Iranshahr were demolished. Baluch activists said it was done 'to pressure' Sunnis; the mayor said the construction was not approved.
Source: RFE/RL: Activists Say Sunni Mosque Foundations Demolished
Ismaili prayer houses closed in Badakhshan
In May 2022, after security forces killed three local leaders, all Ismaili prayer houses in Mountainous Badakhshan were closed. Ismaili leader Muzaffar Davlatmirov was jailed for 5 years on 3 August 2022.
Source: Forum 18: Tajikistan religious freedom survey, December 2023
Sheger City: mosques demolished
In 2023 Oromia authorities demolished at least 19 mosques in the new Sheger City around Addis Ababa, according to the Oromia Islamic Affairs Council, as part of a wider demolition campaign.
Source: The Reporter Ethiopia · Wikipedia: House demolition in Ethiopia (2019–present)
Gaza mosques destroyed
Gaza's Ministry of Awqaf reported 909 of the Strip's 1,244 mosques completely destroyed and 251 partly damaged, along with 22 cemeteries destroyed and 18 damaged.
Source: WAFA (Gaza Ministry of Awqaf)
Alushta mosque raided at Friday prayer
On 23 November 2023 Russia's Centre for Countering Extremism raided Alushta's independent Yukhary-Jami mosque and its leaders' homes; Imam Yusuf Ashirov and two leaders were jailed for several days.
Source: Forum 18: Crimea: 'They conducted Friday prayers at gunpoint'
Great Omari Mosque destroyed
Gaza's oldest and largest mosque was largely destroyed in an Israeli air strike; most of the building collapsed and the minaret was partly destroyed. Israel said the site was used by Hamas.
Source: Al Jazeera · NPR
Akhoondji mosque, Mehrauli
On 30 January 2024 the Delhi Development Authority demolished the centuries-old Akhoondji mosque and the Bahrul Uloom madrasa in Mehrauli, calling them illegal structures in Sanjay Van forest; staff said they were told only minutes before. The Delhi High Court later ordered status quo at the site.
Source: Bar & Bench · Newslaundry
Haldwani madrasa and mosque
On 8 February 2024 officials with a large police force demolished a madrasa and adjoining mosque in Banbhoolpura, Haldwani, as illegal structures on state land. In the violence that followed six people were killed, some with gunshot wounds; a curfew and shoot-at-sight orders were imposed.
Source: Deccan Herald · The Quint
Southport mosque attacked by rioters
On 30 July 2024 a mob of about 300, linked by police to the far right, attacked the Southport mosque with bricks, forcing police to protect the worshippers inside, after false claims about a stabbing suspect.
Source: Religion News Service: In Southport, a mosque bears the brunt · Muslim News: Far-right violence hits Southport Mosque
Gir Somnath mosques and dargahs
On 28 September 2024 Gir Somnath district authorities demolished nine mosques and shrines, 45 homes and other buildings near the Somnath temple at Prabhas Patan, including the Haji Mangrol, Shah Silar, Garib Shah and Jafar Muzaffar dargahs; about 150 people were detained. Petitioners said there were about 10 mosques and 5 dargahs.
Al-Safiya mosque drone strike
An RSF drone struck worshippers at dawn prayer in al-Safiya mosque in El Fasher, killing more than 70; the army put the toll above 75.
Source: Al Jazeera