The Grande Mosquée is the most architecturally striking building in Bafoussam's city centre. Its towers are visible from several streets away and represent the most visible sign of the city's Muslim community — drawn historically from the Hausa trading networks that spread across West and Central Africa, whose neighbourhood, Quartier Haussa, remains a distinct enclave north of the central market. The mosque is the largest in the city and serves as the Friday prayer centre for the wider Muslim population of the West Region.
The exterior is worth seeing even if you do not enter — the proportions and ornamental detailing are more ambitious than most religious architecture in the city. Non-Muslim visitors who wish to enter should do so outside prayer times, remove shoes at the entrance, and dress modestly. The surrounding Quartier Haussa is worth a walk in its own right: the compact streets around the mosque have a distinctly different character from the Bamiléké areas of the city, with kola nut sellers, tailors, and small Arabic-language schools reflecting a cultural tradition that has been present here for more than a century.