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.

With dimensions of 11 x 8 meters, a height of 6 meters, six pillars, and an 11-meter collapsed minaret, the Mosque of the Good Ideais the most damaged mosque. The mosque is in the most deteriorating condition, nearly all of its walls destroyed. There are remains of the mosque’s minaret, such as some wooden poles that are still wedged between bricks, but a man may only comprehend them if he is familiar with Muslim earthen architecture.

With the exception of the one area where the structure’s composition can be determined, the roof has already collapsed. There is now only one row of columns and vaults left inside. Exterior facades can display their original design, although openings and even embellishments are only captured in photographs.