ABSTRACT
A cultural and architectural history of Larabanga must begin with the story of its formative component, Islam, and Islam's genesis, development, and growth on the African continent, which began in the seventh century of the Common Era. The major major conduit for Islam's project of embedding itself within local culture was through material production. Indeed, an understanding of this narrative is crucial to pinpointing the seminal moments of Islamic progress on the continent, as well as how these key moments found renewed expression in Larabanga's cultural, spiritual, and architectural frameworks. One of the earliest architectural manifestations of this political strategy was the Great Mosque in Damascus, built by the Caliph Al-Walid in the Umayyad capital city of Damascus. The specifics of Larabanga's development were in fact the result of this long collaborative process, which began in Middle East and moved across the expanses of North Africa before taking root in the West African forest regions where the community is located.
