Conversion of non-Islamic places of worship into mosques

Muslims believe the mosque at Ka'ba was rebuilt and used for monotheistic worship since the time of Ibrahim and Ismail.

Before Muhammad, the Kaʿba and Mecca (referred to as Bakkah in the Quran), were revered as a sacred sanctuary and was a site of pilgrimage.[5] Some identify it with the Biblical "valley of Baca" from Psalms 84 (Hebrew: בָּכָא‎).[6][7] At the time of Muhammad (AD 570–632), his tribe the Quraysh was in charge of the Kaʿaba, which was at that time a shrine containing hundreds of idols representing Arabian tribal gods and other religious figures. Muhammad earned the enmity of his tribe by preaching the new religion of Islam. Early Muslims practiced, or attempted to practice, their rituals by the Ka'aba alongside polytheists, until they eventually left Mecca, driven out by escalating persecution. The aborted first pilgrimage, which was prevented by the Quraysh, who promised to allow it the following year in the Hudaybiyah treaty, did not also entail the prevention of continuing practices by polytheists. However, before the second pilgrimage season, allies of the Quraysh violated the treaty, allowing the Muslims to return as conquerors rather than guests. Henceforth, the Kaʿaba was to be dedicated to the worship of the one God alone, and the idols were destroyed. The Black Stone (al-Hajar-ul-Aswad) at the Kaʿaba was a special object of veneration at the site. According to some traditions the text of seven or ten especially honoured poems were suspended around the Kaʿaba.[8]

Dome of the Rock is a shrine in Jerusalem. Prophet Muhammad, founder of Islam, is traditionally believed to have ascended into heaven from this site. In Jewish tradition, it is here that Abraham, the progenitor and first patriarch of the Hebrew people, is said to have prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac. The Dome and Al-Aqsa Mosque are both located on the Temple Mount the site of Solomon's Temple and its successors.

Upon the capture of Jerusalem, it is commonly reported that Umar, the Commander of the Faithful, refused to pray in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in spite of a treaty.[9] The architecturally similar Dome of the Rock was built on the Temple Mount, which was an abandoned and disused area since 70 AD in the 7th century but which had previously been the site of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, the most sacred site in Judaism.[10] Umar initially built there a small prayer house which laid the foundation for the later construction of the Al-Aqsa mosque by the Umayyads.[11]

The mosque of Job in Al-Shaykh Saad, Syria, was previously a church of Job.[12]

The Herodian shrine of the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, the second most holy site in Judaism,[13] was converted into a church during the Crusades before being turned into a mosque in 1266 and henceforth banned to Jews and Christians.[14] Part of it was restored as a synagogue by Israel after 1967.[15] Other sites in Hebron have undergone Islamification. The Tomb of Jesse and Ruth became the Church of the Forty Martyrs,[16] which then became the Tomb of Isai and later Deir Al Arba'een.[17]

The structure of Alamgir Mosque standing atop the original site of Bindu-Madhav temple in Varanasi

The Alamgir Mosque in Varanasi was constructed by Mughal Emperor Aurnagzeb built atop the ancient 100 ft high Bindu Madhav (Nand Madho) Temple after its destruction in 1682.

The original Kashi Vishwanath Temple was demolished by Aurangzeb, the sixth Mughal emperor who constructed the Gyanvapi Mosque atop the original Hindu temple. Kashi Vishwanath was among the most renowned Hindu temples of India. Even today the pillars and the structure of the original temple can be clearly seen.

Aurangzeb's demolition of the temple was motivated by the rebellion of local zamindars (landowners) associated with the temple, some of whom may have facilitated the escape of the Maratha king Shivaji. Jai Singh I, the grandson of the temple's builder Raja Man Singh, was widely believed to have facilitated Shivaji's escape from Agra.[18] The temple's demolition was intended as a warning to the anti-Mughal factions and Hindu religious leaders in the city.[19]

As described by Jadunath Sarkar, on 9 April 1669, Aurangzeb issued a general order “to demolish all the schools and temples of the infidels and to put down their religious teaching and practices.” His destroying hand now fell on the great shrines that commanded the veneration of the Hindus all over India—such as the second temple of Somnath, the Vishwanath temple of Benares and the Keshav Rai temple of Mathura.[20]

Gurdwara Lal Khoohi in Lahore, Pakistan was a Sikh Gurdwara which was converted to muslim shrine.[21][22]

Gurudwara Pehli Patshahi (Bhai Bala Di Baithak) dedicated to Bhai Bala was a Sikh Gurudwara at Balakot, Mansehra district of Pakistan which was converted into Bala Pir muslim shrine (Bala Pir Ziarat) after beheading of Syed Ahmad Barelvi by Sikh Empire forces in 1831 Battle of Balakot.[23][24][25]

The Catholic church of Saint Nicholas (Shën Nikollë) was turned into a mosque. After being destroyed in the Communist 1968 anti-religious campaign, the site was turned into an open air mausoleum.

Fethija Mosque in Bihać, Bosnia

The Fethija Mosque (since 1592) of Bihać was a Catholic church devoted to Saint Anthony of Padua (1266).

Following the Ottoman conquest of Anatolia, virtually all of the churches of Istanbul were converted into mosques except the Church of St. Mary of the Mongols.[26]

• Hagia Sophia (from the Greek: Ἁγία Σοφία, "Holy Wisdom"; Latin: Sancta Sophia or Sancta Sapientia; Turkish: Ayasofya) was the cathedral of Constantinople in the state church of the Roman Empire and the seat of the Eastern Orthodox Church's Patriarchate. After 1453 it became a mosque, and since 1931 it has been a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. From the date of its dedication in 360 until 1453, it served as the Orthodox cathedral of the imperial capital, except between 1204 and 1261, when it became the Roman Catholic cathedral under the Latin Patriarch of Constantinople of the Western Crusader-established Latin Empire. In 1453, Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks under Sultan Mehmed II, who subsequently ordered the building converted into a mosque.[27] The bells, altar, iconostasis, ambo and sacrificial vessels were removed and many of the mosaics were plastered over. Islamic features – such as the mihrab, minbar, and four minarets – were added while in the possession of the Ottomans. The building was a mosque from 29 May 1453 until 1931, when it was secularised. It was opened as a museum on 1 February 1935.[28] On July 10, 2020, the decision of the Council of Ministers to transform it into a museum was canceled by Council of State and the Turkish President Erdoğan signed a decree annulling the Hagia Sophia's museum status, reverting it to a mosque.[29][30]
• The Church of the Holy Apostles became the cathedral church and seat of the patriarchate for three years after the Fall of Constantinople, as Hagia Sophia became the city's Jama masjid. The Justinianic church was already in disrepair and in 1461 it was demolished and the Fatih Mosque was erected in its place.
• The Church of the Pantocrator, a church favoured for imperial burials in the latter Byzantine Empire, became the Zeyrek Mosque.
• The Church of SS Sergius and Bacchus, a church built by Justinian I, became a mosque dubbed the Little Hagia Sophia.
• The Church of Saint Andrew in Krisei, became the Koca Mustafa Pasha Mosque.
• The Church of Saint Thekla of the Palace of Blachernae, became the Atik Mustafa Pasha Mosque.
• The nunnery of Saint Theodosia, became the Gül Mosque.
• The Chora Church became the Kariye Mosque.
• The Monastery of Stoudios became the İmrahor Mosque.
• The Church of Saint John the Forerunner by-the-Dome became the Hirami Ahmet Pasha Mosque.
• The Church of Myrelaion became the Bodrum Mosque.
• The Catholic Church of Saint Paul became the Arap Mosque.
• The Lips Monastery became the Fenari Isa Mosque.
• The Monastery of Christ Pantepoptes became the Eski Imaret Mosque.
• The Church of Theotokos Kyriotissa became the Kalenderhane Mosque.
• The Church of Hagios Theodoros at Vefa became the Church-Mosque of Vefa.
• The Monastery of Manuel became the Kefeli Mosque.
• The Monastery of Gastria became the Sancaktar Hayrettin Mosque.
• The Church of Saint Mary of Constantinople became the Odalar Mosque.
• The Pammakaristos Church became the Fethiye Mosque.
• The Toklu Dede Mosque was an Eastern Orthodox church of unknown dedication.
• The monastery of the Holy Martyrs Menodora, Metrodora, and Nymphodora became the Manastır Mosque.

Elsewhere in Turkey numerous churches were converted into mosques, including:

• Hagia Sophia Church in Nicaea (İznik)
• Hagia Sophia Church in Trebizond (Trabzon)
• Panagia Chrysokephalos Church, became the Fatih Mosque in Trabzon (Trabzon)
• Nakip Mosque was a Byzantine church. (Trabzon)
• Hagios Eugenios Church, became the New Friday Mosque (Trabzon)
• Saint Paul Cathedral, became the Tarsus Old Mosque (Tarsus)
• Church of Virgin Mary, became the Kesik Minare (Antalya)
• Church of Christ and Saint Stephen, became the Fatih Mosque in Tirilye (Tirilye)

Hundreds of Armenian Churches were converted into Mosques in Turkey and Azerbaijan. Thousands were destroyed after Armenian Genocide in 1915

• Cathedral of Kars
• Cathedral of Ani
• Liberation Mosque, ex St Mary's Church Cathedral, Gaziantep

The Selimiye Mosque was the largest and oldest surviving Gothic church in Cyprus, which was possibly constructed on the site of an earlier Byzantine church.

In addition, after the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922), some of the Greek Orthodox churches in Turkey were converted into mosques. In 2015, Turkey decided to renovate the ruined Hagia Sophia church in Enez, dating back to the 12th century, as a mosque despite former statements made about the possibility of restoring it as a museum.[31] As of 2020, four Byzantine church museums converted to mosques under Erdogan's rule (including the Haghia Sophia in İznik (2011),[32] the Chora Church in Istanbul (2019)[33] and the Haghia Sophia in Istanbul (2020)).[34]

Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque

Following the Ottoman conquest of Cyprus, a number of Christian churches were converted into mosques. A relatively significant surge in church-mosque conversion followed the 1974 Turkish Invasion of Cyprus. Many of the Orthodox churches in Northern Cyprus have been converted, and many are still in the process of becoming mosques.

• St. Nicholas Cathedral in Famagusta, Cyprus was converted by the Ottoman Turks into Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque in 1571; remains in use as mosque today.
• St. Sophia Cathedral in Nicosia, Cyprus was converted by the Ottoman Turks into the Selimiye Mosque, Nicosia; remains in use as mosque today.

During the Ottoman wintering in Toulon (1543–44), the Toulon Cathedral was temporarily used as a mosque for the 30,000 members of the crew of the Ottoman fleet.

Painting of the ruins of the Parthenon and the Ottoman mosque built after 1715, in the early 1830s.

Numerous orthodox churches were converted to mosques during the Ottoman period in Greece. Among them:

• The Church of the Acheiropoietos (Eski Mosque), the Church of Hosios David (Suluca or Murad Mosque), the Church of Prophet Elijah (Saraylı Mosque), the Church of Saint Catherine (Yakup Pasha Mosque), the Church of Saint Panteleimon (Ishakiye Mosque), the Church of Holy Apostles (Soğuksu Mosque), the Church of Hagios Demetrios (Kasımiye Mosque), the Rotonda of Galerius (Mosque of Suleyman Hortaji Effendi) in Thessaloniki.
• The Cathedral church of Veria (Hünkar Mosque) and the Church of Saint Paul in Veria (Medrese Mosque).
• The Church of Saint John in Ioannina, destroyed by the Ottomans and the Aslan Pasha Mosque was built in its place.
• The Theotokos Kosmosoteira monastery in Feres was converted into a mosque in the mid-14th century.
• Parthenon in Athens: Some time before the close of the fifteenth century, the Parthenon became a mosque. Before that the Parthenon had been a Greek Orthodox church.
• The Fethiye Mosque in Athens was built on top of a Byzantine basilica. It is currently an exhibition centre.

The Rotunda of Galerius in Thessaloniki, initially a Mausoleum of Roman Emperor Galerius, a Christian church (326–1590), then a mosque and again a church after 1912.

Following the Ottoman conquest of the Kingdom of Hungary, a number of Christian churches were converted into mosques. Those that survived the era of Ottoman rule, were later reconverted into churches after the Great Turkish War.

• Church of Our Lady of Buda, converted into Eski Djami immediately after the capture of Buda in 1541, reconverted in 1686.
• Church of Mary Magdalene, Buda, converted into Fethiye Djami c. 1602, reconverted in 1686.
• The Franciscan Church of St John the Baptist in Buda, converted into Pasha Djami, destroyed in 1686.

• Al-Omari Grand Mosque in Beirut, Lebanon; built as the Church of St. John the Baptist by the Knights Hospitaller; converted to mosque in 1291.

• Grand Mosque of Tangier; built as Church

A Catholic Christian church dedicated to Saint Vincent of Lérins, was built by the Visigoths in Córdoba; during the reign of Abd al-Rahman I, it was converted into a mosque.[35][36][37] In the time of the Reconquista, Christian rule was reestablished and the building became a church once again, the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption.[35][36][37]

• 

  Umayyad Mosque mosque was built on the site of a Christian basilica dedicated to John the Baptist, which was earlier a Temple of Jupiter converted into a cathedral by the Roman emperor Theodosius I
  Umayyad Mosque in Damascus; built on the site of a Christian basilica dedicated to John the Baptist (Yahya), which was earlier, a Roman Pagan temple of Jupiter.
• Great Mosque of al-Nuri in Homs; initially a pagan temple for the sun god ("El-Gabal"), then converted into a church dedicated to Saint John the Baptist
• Great Mosque of Hama; a temple to worship the Roman god Jupiter, later it became a church during the Byzantine era
• Great Mosque of Aleppo; the agora of the Hellenistic period, which later became the garden for the Cathedral of Saint Helena

A number of North African cathedrals and churches were converted into mosques in the mid-20th century

• St. Philip Cathedral in Algiers, Algeria (originally a mosque, converted to a church in 1845, reconverted to the Ketchaoua Mosque in 1962)
• Cathédrale Notre-Dame des Sept-Douleurs in Constantine, Algeria
• Tripoli Cathedral in Tripoli, Libya (converted to Maidan al Jazair Square Mosque)

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria converted a number of Christian churches into mosques after they occupied Mosul in 2014. The churches were restored into its original functions after Mosul was liberated in 2017.[38]

• Syrian Orthodox Church of St. Ephraim in Mosul, Iraq; converted to the Mosque of the Mujahideen
• Chaldean Church of St. Joseph in Mosul, Iraq

After the conquest of Hebron, this holy place was "taken over from the Jewish tradition" by the Muslim rulers. The cave and the surrounding Herodian enclosure was converted into a mosque.[39]

• Church of Saint James Intercisus in the Old City of Jerusalem, transformed into Al-Yaqoubi Mosque
• Templum Domini (Dome of the Ascension, Dome of the Rock)
• Tomb of the Patriarchs
• Tombs of Nathan and Gad in Halhoul, transformed into Mosque of Prophet Yunus.[40][41]