Press Release
U.S. Ambassador and U.S. Congress Members Announce Grant to Restore Zanzibar’s Historic Kizimkazi Mosque
July 3, 2008
On July 3, U.S. Ambassador Mark Green together with visiting members of the U.S. House of Representatives Allen Boyd, Hal Rogers, and John Tanner announced a $21,500 USD Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation Grant to the Zanzibar Department of Archives, Museums, and Antiquities to restore the historic 12th Century Kizimkazi Mosque.
The Kizimkazi Mosque on the south tip of the island of Zanzibar is considered one of the oldest Islamic buildings on the East African coast. It is one of the major historical monuments in Zanzibar protected by the Antiquity Law of 1927 (Amended 2002).
The Zanzibari Government aims to undertake the restoration of the mosque to ensure that the current state of deterioration is controlled by professionally strengthening the building and the historic mihrab, as well as the surrounding environment. The goal of the work will be to protect and preserve among the first evidence of the arrival of Islam to Zanzibar, and preserve evidence of the coming of the Persians to Zanzibar and East Africa.
One of the most interesting parts of the mosque, and primary surviving portion from the original construction, is the ornate mihrab and the north wall, along which there is a frieze of passages from the holy Koran. The floriated kufic inscriptions to the left of the mihrab proclaim that Sheikh Said bin Abi Amran Mfaume al Hassan bin Muhammad ordered the mosque to be built in the month of Dhul Kaadi in the year 500 AH (about 1106 AD). However, another inscription in Arabic to the right of the mihrab relays a major rebuilding in 1184 AH or 1772-1773 AD. The mosque is thought to be the only one on the East African Coast where so much Kufic writing still exists.
The Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation is the only program in the U.S. Government that provides direct small grant support to heritage preservation in developing countries. Established by the U.S. Congress in 2001 with $1 million to help developing countries preserve their cultural heritage, the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation emphasizes the preservation of the world's cultural patrimony as an integral component of U.S. foreign relations.
To date, the Ambassador's Fund has supported nearly 400 projects worldwide, totaling more than $10 million. Funded projects include technical support for the restoration of historic buildings; assessment and conservation of museum collections; archaeological site preservation; documentation to save threatened traditional crafts; improved storage conditions for archives and manuscripts; recording oral history; and documentation of indigenous languages.
The Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation is provided on behalf of the American people and is part of overall U.S. Government direct and multilateral assistance to Tanzania of more than 750 billion Tanzanian shillings this fiscal year.