Description of the attraction
The Great Parisian Mosque is located in the Latin Quarter next to the Botanical Gardens. It covers an area of one hectare and is one of the largest mosques in France.
France has been closely associated with Muslim North Africa since the 19th century. In 1848 Algeria was declared an integral part of the country, Tunisia became a French protectorate in 1881, and Morocco in 1912. In the second half of the 20th century, these countries regained their independence, but the proportion of Muslims in the population of France remains impressive. The idea of creating an Islamic spiritual center in the capital originated in the middle of the 19th century. It became a reality after the First World War, when the country considered it necessary to build a mosque to pay tribute to the memory of one hundred thousand Muslim warriors who died in the battles for France.
The construction was fully funded by the state and took three years. On July 15, 1926, French President Gaston Doumergue and Moroccan Sultan Moulay Yusuf officially opened the Paris Cathedral Mosque. Algerian Sufi Ahmad al-Alawi performed the first prayer here.
The building of the mosque is sustained in the synthetic Hispano-Moorish style of Mudejar, which became widespread in the XII-XVI centuries in Spain. Elements of Moorish aesthetics, Gothic, Renaissance are intertwined in it. Both Muslim and Christian architects worked in this style.
The building project was created by architects Matuf, Fourne, Ebes. Craftsmen from North African countries worked on the construction, part of the building and finishing materials was also brought from there. The minaret of the mosque is 33 meters high. Its courtyard is decorated with a beautiful pond and resembles the gardens of the Alhambra.
During the occupation of Paris, Muslims - members of the Resistance regularly gathered in the mosque. Here Jewish families were hiding from the Gestapo. Today, the mufti of the mosque is Dalil Boubaker, one of the most authoritative and respected figures in French Islam.
The mosque has a prayer hall (musalla), Turkish baths (hammam), a school (madrasah), a library, as well as a restaurant, a tea house, and souvenir shops. The teahouse serves traditional mint tea and oriental sweets. The Great Mosque itself, with the exception of the sacred premises, is open to tourists.
