Originally a fort, the building was converted into a mosque in the mid-19th century and named after Sultan Abdul Majid.

[1] In 1841, a group of Beirut citizens collected funds to restore the building, adding a new structure on its western side.

The mosque was enlarged in 1906 when pointed arches - fashionable in Beirut at the end of the 19th century – were added to its façade.

Its location between Khan Antoun Bey and Souk Al-Tawileh made it very vulnerable and the mosque was severely damaged during the early years of the Civil War (1975-1990).

It included the reinstatement of an entrance from Khan Antoun Bey Square and the addition of a new, taller minaret.