Egyptian authorities reopened April 2 the historic Al-Hussein Mosque in Cairo after conducting major internal and external renovation works to the mosque and the area surrounding it. 

Egypt’s Minister of Endowments Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa had issued a decision March 12 to close the mosque to carry out renovation works, sparking controversy among citizens who want to pray at the mosque, architects and those interested in architectural heritage who deemed the work as damaging the mosque’s historical aspect. 

This prompted the minister to issue a decision March 31 to reopen the mosque in April, during the holy month of Ramadan, to welcome Muslims who make up around 90% of the country’s population of 102 million. 

Salah Zaki, professor of architecture at the Faculty of Engineering at Al-Azhar University and a consultant for the mosque’s renovation project, told Al-Monitor that the works consist of several stages. The first of which is studying the history of streets and houses surrounding the mosque with a distinctive architectural heritage, then restoring them along with all the monuments in the area, as well as exploiting the lands surrounding the area to restore tourism to this ancient area in the center of Cairo.