Tbilisi Mosque, Juma Mosque, is the only surviving Muslim shrine in the city. The Muslim population appeared in Tbilisi after the conquest of the city by the Arabs, from the second half of the 7th century. In the Middle Ages, several mosques were built in the city. The largest of these was the Shah Ismail Shiite Mosque in Tbilisi, which is said to have been built by the Iranian Shah Ismail I in 1522-1524. It was demolished in 1950 during the construction of the new Metekhi Bridge.
Juma mosque, that is, a Friday mosque, is a mosque for collective prayer performed by the entire Muslim community at noon on Friday – Juma namaz (obligatory collective prayer for Muslims). Before namaz, the khatib (most often the imam) reads the Friday prayer (khutbah).
In 1723-1735, the Ottomans, who then held Tbilisi, built a Sunni mosque at the foot of Narikala. In the 1740s, the mosque was destroyed by the Persians. In 1846-1851, it was restored according to the design of the architect Giovanni Scudieri, but at the end of the 19th century, in 1895, the Baku millionaire and philanthropist Hajji Zeynalabdin Tagiyev completely renovated the mosque, which significantly changed its eastern part.
The mosque, built of brick, stands on a hillside. Its architecture combines elements of Neo-Gothic and Islam. An eight-pointed minaret has been erected at the gate, which attracts attention from afar and is perceived differently from different points of view.
Currently, two parts of Muslim believers live in Tbilisi – Sunnis and Shiites. The Sunni mosque is the only functioning mosque in Tbilisi. It serves Muslims of both Sunni and Shiite denominations. They pray to Allah together, which is not a common form in the world. Initially, the mosque was divided by a black curtain, with Sunnis praying on one side and Shiites on the other. Today the mosque is equally open to everyone. The hierarchical levels (steps) in the Tbilisi mosque are also divided between Sunnis and Shiites. The Tbilisi mosque is subordinate to the Mufti of Azerbaijan. Next to the mosque there is a madrasah – a Muslim religious school.
