The Executive Council of Kaabatullah Masjid Jamaat Aberdeen on behalf of its entire membership on Sunday 19th March, 2023 officially opened a new state-of-the-art Mosque at Aberdeen in the west of Freetown.
Kaabatullah Masjid Aberdeen is arguably one of the oldest Mosques in the country and probably the first Mosque in Sierra Leone to be digitalised.

The chairman of the occasion, Alpha Abassie Elias Thomas, who steered the event with excellent sonorous voice, informed the gathering that the Kaabatullah Mosque Aberdeen is an Aku Mosque and that the Aku people in Fourah Bay and Fullah Town in the east of Freetown and Aberdeen in the west of the capital are very proud of their Islamic culture.

Chairman Alpha Abassie Elias Thomas disclosed that they have plans to extend the Mosque in the not-too-distant future, while he recognized the high-profile personalities who graced the occasion.

Giving a brief background of the Masjid, Alpha Bushra Cole informed the congregation that the Masjid was first built in 1860 and that the first reconstruction of the Masjid was officially opened on Sunday 27th May, 2012. He disclosed that after the first reconstruction of the Masjid, the roof started leaking during the rains and several measures were taken to address the problem but to no seeming avails.

Alpha B. Cole however said the Executive Council of the Jamaat deliberated on the issue and consequently decided on doing a proper professional job on the Masjid to accommodate the fast-growing population in the Aberdeen Community. He said they therefore took advantage of the new technological designs. Alpha Cole further disclosed that in one of their Executive meetings, the idea of adding another floor to the Mosque was suggested, adding that after series of meetings, the Executive decided to take the bull by the horns by adding another floor that would not only take care of the leakages but would also provide more space for the teeming Muslim population in Aberdeen.

He said a three-man committee was set up comprising of Alhaji Mohamed Babatunde Cole, Alhaji Issa Thomas and Alpha Abassie Elias Thomas Jnr, and that the Secretary General Alpha Ibrahim Babatunde Sesay, who he said engaged the services of an architectural firm Tropical Environment and Design Associates that did the design work and supervised the construction of the Mosque. Alpha Cole added that the reconstruction was done by Centirium Engineering (SL) Limited and it took one year, six months for the construction work to be completed.

The Chief Imam of Kaabatullah Masjid Jamaat, Alhaji Mohamed Zanunu Deen, who welcomed all the Guests at the auspicious event, said he was extremely happy to see the development of the Mosque. The Chief Imam prayed to the Almighty Allah to reward all those who in diverse ways contributed to the construction of the Mosque as well as those who had the intention to contribute but did not have the means.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Guest of Honour at the grand opening of the second reconstruction of the Masjid, Alhaji Salim Savage, who is the Imam of the Aku Community in The Gambia, said he travelled to Sierra Leone specifically to witness the ceremony. He averred that there is abundant blessing for someone who constructs a mosque and that he was very impressed with the new edifice of the Mosque. The Mosque, Alhaji Salim Savage went on, is very magnificent and adorable. He therefore appealed to worshippers to take ownership of the Mosque and take proper care of it.

In his statement on the reconstruction and extension of the Masjid, Alhaji Dr. Mohamed Babatunde Cole got down to the real nitty-gritty of why they decided to extend and reconstruct the Mosque. He disclosed that all the expenses of the new edifice were donated by a slave of Allah and did not cost the Jamaat a dime. Alhaji Dr. Mohamed B. Cole therefore advised the Jamaat to use the funds they have to do a maintenance work on the Mosque.

Also in a brief statement at the event, the Vice President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, said he was very much impressed with the newly constructed modernized Mosque. The Vice President said he was born and raised from a Fullah Muslim home and that he holds elders in high esteem, adding that he has prayed in the Kaabatullah Masjid on several occasions. He passionately appealed to the Executive Council of the Masjid to give the fullest support to the Imam as the latter is the custodian of the Mosque.

In his keynote address, Alhaji Dr. Ramadan Jalloh explained what it requires to build a Mosque and told the congregation that the reward for goodness is good and that Allah always rewards people who build a Mosque. The learned Sheik cited several verses from the Holy Qur’an.

The Al-Qadi of the Kaabatullah Masjid, Alhaji Mohamed Hashim Bun Tejan, appealed to the youth in the Jamaat to utilize the Mosque and take good care of it. He also prayed for Allah’s guidance and appealed to members of the Executive Council to be patient with one another.

Several Imams, from Jamieu Atiq, Jamieu Salam, Jamieu Baitulla, Jamieu

Haq and Jamieu Bunafan spoke on the benefits of building a mosque of such status symbol and showered praises on Kaabatullah Masjid for constructing such a wonderful edifice.

Earlier, Alhaji Alusine Williams had said the opening prayers while Alpha Sahid Cole introduced the Chairman of the occasion respectively.

Six eminent personalities were recognized for their dedication and commitment to the work of the Jamaat. They are the Chief Imam, Alhaji Mohamed Zanunu Deen, Alhaji Dr. Mohamed Babatunde Cole, Alpha Abassie alias Thomas,

Haja Alimatu Abdallah, Alpha Ibrahim Babatunde Sesay, and Alhaji Mohamad Hahim Bun Tejan. The vote of thanks was delivered by Haja Alimatu Abdullah.

The event was climaxed by the unveiling of plagues and a tour of the Mosque by all the dignitaries who graced the occasion amidst melodious Muslim songs from the Aberdeen Muslim Youth Organization (AMYO).