According to the historian Mahmoud Megdiche, the mosque got its name from the job of the Chaouech (Guard of the door in Arabic), as it was very close to one of the main entrances of the medina: Bab Jebli.

[2] Thanks to this localisation, the mosque played a major economic role, but also a defensive one.

According to the inscription at the entrance of the mosque, it was built by the mason Mohammed Al Kotti, descendant of the famous El Kotti family, known for its major contribution to the local architecture through the construction of many public buildings of the medina in the 10th century, such as the Great Mosque and Hammam El Soltane.

[2] The first historical trace of the mosque Bou Chouaïcha goes back to 1857 in the inventory of the religious monuments of Sfax set by the students of the Military School of Bardo.

[2] The mosque was built in two phases: the first one was during the Zirid period, with a prayer room similar to the one in other mosques such as the mosque of the Kasbah and the Sidi Saada mausoleum; a second prayer room with a different style was added later, increasing the capacity of the building, as well as a minaret at the northeast corner.