The first mosque in Yoruba land was built in the town of Iwo, located in Osun State, in the year 1655 — 370 years ago. The second mosque was built in Iseyin town, Oyo State, in 1760, followed by Lagos in 1774, Saki in 1790, and Osogbo in 1889.
The towns of Oyo, Ibadan, Abeokuta, Ijebu-Ode, Ikirun, and Ede followed in the 19th century, before Shehu Usman Dan Fodiyo’s jihad reached Iwo.
The king who initiated the construction of the mosque was named Oba Ogunmakinde Ande. He had converted to Islam before building the mosque. He embraced Islam because he had no children to succeed him. He sought the help of his chief diviner to discover the reason for his childlessness.
The diviner told the king that if he wanted to have children, he must find a certain kind of people — those who wash their hands, faces, and feet (Muslims) — and stay with them.
Without delay, the king ordered his courtiers to bring such people to him. When the courtiers went into the town, they met Muslim traders from Mali and northern Nigeria who had come to Iwo for trade. They informed them of the king’s desire to see them.
During their meeting with the king, they told him that if he accepted Islam, he would have children by the will of Allah.
He immediately agreed and accepted Islam, and within a short time, he had children.
As king, he used his royal authority to build this grand mosque near his palace. He himself served as the imam, leading Muslims in the five daily prayers.
This mosque was the first ever built in Yoruba land. This shows that the Iwo Kingdom led other Yoruba kingdoms in accepting Islam, even before Shehu Usman Dan Fodiyo brought his jihad to the kingdom at that time.
After the death of Oba Ogunmakinde, all the kings who succeeded him were Muslims. Never was a non-Muslim king appointed.
However, it is said that there was a king named Abimbola who ascended the throne as a Muslim but later apostatized and converted to another religion.
It is said that from the time he renounced Islam while on the throne, he became blind — losing sight in both eyes — and began to suffer various ailments that plagued him until his death.
Only in the Iwo Kingdom is the new king crowned with a turban to confirm his acceptance of Islam, unlike the straw or leaf crowns used in other Yoruba kingdoms.
The mosque has since been renovated from its original structure.