Mohamed el-Hajj is a man of vision, the most grandiose of which came to fruition some thirty years ago when he built seven mosques in his hometown on a shoestring budget. Six of the mosques were built at the top of Bani’s main hill. They are directed not toward Mecca but instead face a larger mosque in the center. Erected in the early nineteen-eighties, the crumbling adobe mosques have prematurely weathered for lack of maintenance, making them look much older than they actually are. In a country with little or no heritage sites, the controversial mosques put the small town of Bani on the map.

The Mosque of the Joy measures 8.8 x 6.8 m and is 4 m tall. It has an 11-meter minaret and four pillars. The only way to determine the minaret’s location is from the interior composition because it is completely missing. Although the walls appear good from a distance, they are actually deteriorated, and the roof has some leaks.

Although remains of the roof’s drainage system are visible, the roof’s slope does not, alas, direct precipitation into gutters. All of the interior’s columns remain.Although weathered, outside facades still display their original structure, openings, and even ornamentation. The façade documents the usage of various materials in vertical constructions.