Mosque
Mesquita Brasil
Twin-minaret mosque raised by Middle Eastern immigrants, its hall lined in golden calligraphy.
0:00≈ 2 min
Location
0:00≈ 2 min
About this audio guide
This guide to Mesquita Brasil traces how a Palestinian mutual-aid society meeting in a rented room on Rua da Mooca in 1927 became Brazil's first mosque. Its founders, Hosni Adura and Darwich Gazal, had fled the turmoil after the First World War and needed a place to bury their dead, marry their children and pray. Two years in, Syrian and Lebanese newcomers began joining the same meetings, forcing a quiet decision about who the growing community would open its doors to. Buying the land on Avenida do Estado alone took another decade of saved wages.
This audio guide was created using AI.