A mosque, believed to be 1,000 years old, has highlighted what the UAE was like when the religion of Islam came to its shores. This was a period of time which ushered in a wave of change across the area that is now known as the UAE. The new religion brought with it a set of values and beliefs that have since defined the history of the country.

Archeologists from the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) are continuing to make discoveries that shed new light on the history of the country as Islam made its way into it.

Close to the construction site of the Sheikh Khalifa mosque in Al Ain, DCT Abu Dhabi archaeologists discovered several falaj (irrigation waterways), at least three buildings and, more significantly, a mosque which dates back to Islam’s early golden age of the Abbasid Caliphate – 1,000 years ago. The mosque is the earliest yet discovered in the UAE.

Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of DCT Abu Dhabi, said: “The new findings at the Al Ain archaeological sites prove the richness of the region’s history, which allows us to expand our knowledge of ages long past. The discovery of a mosque from the Abbasid period in Al Ain demonstrates the deeply-rooted influences of Islam in the region, despite the immense distance from where Islam first emerged and at a time when modes of transportation were quite rudimentary.