The mosque was built in 1888–1889, with its four distinctive minarets added in 1903, and is the oldest permanent mosque in Australia. Located in Little Gilbert Street in the south-west corner of the Adelaide city centre, the mosque was originally built to accommodate the spiritual needs of "Afghan" cameleers and traders coming in after working in South Australia's northern regions. After the congregation dwindled and the mosque fell into disrepair in the early 20th century, it took on a new lease of life with post-World War II Muslim migration, and has since been thriving.