Prior to the usage of the common Arabic style merged with modernist style mosque architecture, the vernacular mosques of the Philippines used to be the hut-style and the pagoda-style, which were very common until the late 19th century.
Most of the mosques in the Philippines today have common Islamic architectures imported from Arabia, though some vernacular pagoda-style mosques can still be seen in Mindanao such as the Masjid Datu Untong Balabaran of Taviran in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao.
One of the earliest types of mosques in Lanao is a five-tiered building resembling a Chinese pagoda.
Inside the mosque, one does not find a pulpit (mimbar) but an elevated platform, a chair or a structure, where the khatib delivers his sermon.
According to Filipino Muslims, it is not permitted to discuss unIslamic matter inside the mosques.