[4][5] Maghrebi architects and engineers were likely involved in the mosque's construction,[6] as it was built using local materials and building techniques rather than in an Ottoman style.

[7] Murad is said to have offered freedom to 300 Spanish or Sicilian slaves if they built the mosque in a short period of time.

[9] In the 1920s, during the period of Italian colonial rule, some restoration works were carried out on the building and it was declared as a historic monument through a government decree dated 12 April 1922.

[9] Murad's tomb was deliberately destroyed by an explosion in 2013; its destruction was condemned by Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan and by UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova.

[4] According to tradition, the columns – which are composed of pink and red breccia, cipolin, black granite, and limestone – originated from Leptis Magna and were salvaged from a ship which had foundered near Tajura while they were being transported to Europe.