Sheik Karim Al Makhdum Mosque

Simunul, Tawi-Tawi, BARMM

Built in 1380 AD on Simunul Island by a Maguindanao Arab missionary, the Sheik Karim Al Makhdum Mosque is the oldest mosque in the Philippines and one of the oldest in Southeast Asia. The original structure — a simple hardwood frame on a stone foundation — has been carefully preserved within a protective enclosure; some original timbers are authentic to the 14th century. To stand here is to stand at the exact moment Islam arrived in the Philippine archipelago, 141 years before Magellan.

📸 Laila Aripin / BIO (Public Domain), National Historical Commission of the Philippines (Public Domain) via Wikimedia Commons

oldest-mosque1380IslamicheritageSimunulTawi-Tawi

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