On Heritage Day, Thursday 24 September 2026, mosques across South Africa will open their doors to every South African. Come in. Look around. Ask anything. There is no charge, no obligation, and no question that is out of bounds.

We made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another.

Qur’an 49:13

What the National Mosque Open Day Is

Most South Africans have never been inside a mosque. They pass one on the way to work, hear the athaan drift across a suburb at dawn, and form a picture of what happens behind the doors from whatever they have read or been told. The National Mosque Open Day exists to replace that picture with a real one.

SAMNET launched the campaign in 2017 with eighteen mosques. By 2019 there were forty-five, and more than two thousand people walked through their doors across six provinces. It went ahead even in 2020, when ten mosques in five provinces opened under lockdown conditions. And it has grown well beyond our borders: in 2025, twenty-seven South African venues were joined by ninety-five more across nine other African countries, through a partnership with the Imam Development Project.

Heritage Day is the natural home for it. It is the one day in the South African calendar set aside for looking honestly at who else lives here. Muslims have been part of this country since the seventeenth century, and the mosque is where much of that history is kept.

The National Mosque Open Day was initiated to showcase our heritage, break down barriers, stereotypes and to build bridges.

Dr Faisal Suliman, Chairperson, SAMNET

What that looks like in practice is best said by the people who came. From SAMNET’s own 2019 report:

The way all of you welcomed me — and for me it was the first time in my 45 years that I entered a mosque.

A visitor, Husami Masjid, Cape Town

I used to believe Muslims don’t like Christians, but today my views on Islam and Muslims changed.

A visitor, Masjidul Muttaqeen, East London

I never thought that the day would come where I would set foot on this holy ground being a Mosque.

A pastor, Aleemia Masjid, Phoenix

What Happens When You Visit

Every mosque runs its own programme, but most include some version of the following:

• A guided tour of the building — what the mihrab and minbar are for, why there are no images, how the space is arranged, and what the architecture is telling you.
• A short talk by the imam on what Muslims believe and how the five daily prayers shape an ordinary week.
• A demonstration of wudhu and salaah — the washing before prayer, and the prayer itself, explained as it happens.
• Open question and answer. This is the part visitors consistently say they valued most. Nothing is off the table.
• Tea, and something to eat. Hospitality is not an add-on to this; it is most of the point.
• At many venues: henna art, hijab-tying demonstrations, Islamic literature, and free blood-pressure and glucose testing.

Allow about an hour. You are welcome to stay longer, and you are welcome to leave whenever you wish. Times differ from mosque to mosque — some open in the morning, some at midday, some in the afternoon — so check the listing below before you set out.

If You Are Visiting a Mosque for the First Time

There is very little you need to know in advance, and your hosts will guide you through the rest. But people often ask, so:

• Dress comfortably and modestly. Long trousers or a long skirt, and shoulders covered. Women are asked to bring a scarf for the head; most mosques keep spares at the door if you do not have one.
• Shoes come off at the edge of the carpeted prayer area. There will be racks or shelves.
• You are not asked to pray, or to recite anything, or to take part in any act of worship. You are asked only to watch respectfully if prayer takes place while you are there.
• Photographs — please ask your host first. Some mosques welcome them; some prefer not, particularly where worshippers are in the frame.
• Bring your questions. Blunt ones are better than polite ones. The people hosting you would far rather answer a hard question than have you leave still wondering.

If you would like more detail on why mosques open their doors and what Islamic law says about visitors, we have set that out separately: Welcoming Visitors to the Masjid — Questions and Answers.

Participating Mosques

37 venues confirmed so far across 9 countries. Last updated: 18 September 2026. If your local mosque is not listed yet, check back — and do encourage them to register.

South Africa

Gauteng

KwaZulu-Natal

Western Cape

Beyond South Africa

Mosque Open Day is now kept across the continent. Many of these mosques hold their open day on the weekend nearest Heritage Day rather than on 24 September itself, so please check the date before you travel.

Kenya

Malawi

Mozambique

Nigeria

Sierra Leone

Uganda

Zambia

Zimbabwe

For Mosques: How to Take Part

Two hours. Your imam, your committee, your programme, your rules. There is no fee and no application process — a committee decides to open, tells us, and we add the mosque to the national listing, the media release and the map.

Everything a host mosque needs is on one page: the conditions we ask of every host, checklists for two weeks out and the day before, a suggested running order, how to brief your guides, the questions they will actually be asked, and what to send us afterwards.

Read the host guide →

Or register straight away: info@samnet.co.za · +27 31 207 4223