Great Mosque of Brussels
Encyclopedia
The Great Mosque of Brussels is the oldest mosque
in Brussels
. It is located in the Cinquantenaire Park
. It is also the seat of the Islamic and Cultural Centre of Belgium
.
The original building was built by architect Ernest Van Humbeek in an Arabic style, to form the Oriental Pavilion of the National Exhibition in Brussels in 1880. At that time the pavilion housed a monumental painting on canvas
: “Panorama of Cairo”, by the Belgian
painter Emile Wauters
, which enjoyed major success. However, lack of maintenance in the twentieth century caused the building to deteriorate gradually.
In 1967, King Baudouin made a gift of the building to King Faisal ibn Abd al-Aziz
of Saudi Arabia
, on an official visit to Belgium, that it might be turned into a place of worship for the use of the Muslim community of Belgium which had grown considerably by that time. The mosque, after a long reconstruction carried out at the expense of Saudi Arabia by Tunisian architect Boubaker, was inaugurated in 1978 in the presence of Khalid ibn Abd al-Aziz
and Baudouin.
Today, it also hosts a school and an Islamic research centre whose objectives are to propagate the Muslim faith. The centre also provides courses of Arabic
for adults and children, as well as inroductory courses in Islam
.
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
. It is located in the Cinquantenaire Park
Cinquantenaire
Parc du Cinquantenaire or Jubelpark is a large public, urban park in the easternmost part of the European Quarter in Brussels, Belgium....
. It is also the seat of the Islamic and Cultural Centre of Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
.
The original building was built by architect Ernest Van Humbeek in an Arabic style, to form the Oriental Pavilion of the National Exhibition in Brussels in 1880. At that time the pavilion housed a monumental painting on canvas
Canvas
Canvas is an extremely heavy-duty plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, and other items for which sturdiness is required. It is also popularly used by artists as a painting surface, typically stretched across a wooden frame...
: “Panorama of Cairo”, by the Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
painter Emile Wauters
Emile Wauters
Emile Wauters was a Belgian painter. He was born in Brussels. Successively the pupil of Portaels and Jean-Léon Gérôme, he produced in 1868 The Battle of Hastings: the Finding of the body of Harold by Edith, a work of striking, precocious talent....
, which enjoyed major success. However, lack of maintenance in the twentieth century caused the building to deteriorate gradually.
In 1967, King Baudouin made a gift of the building to King Faisal ibn Abd al-Aziz
Faisal of Saudi Arabia
Faisal bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud was King of Saudi Arabia from 1964 to 1975. As king, he is credited with rescuing the country's finances and implementing a policy of modernization and reform, while his main foreign policy themes were pan-Islamic Nationalism, anti-Communism, and pro-Palestinian...
of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, on an official visit to Belgium, that it might be turned into a place of worship for the use of the Muslim community of Belgium which had grown considerably by that time. The mosque, after a long reconstruction carried out at the expense of Saudi Arabia by Tunisian architect Boubaker, was inaugurated in 1978 in the presence of Khalid ibn Abd al-Aziz
Khalid of Saudi Arabia
Khalid bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud was King of Saudi Arabia from 1975 to 1982. He ruled during Saudi Arabia's oil boom years. In 1979, he had to deal with the Grand Mosque Seizure...
and Baudouin.
Today, it also hosts a school and an Islamic research centre whose objectives are to propagate the Muslim faith. The centre also provides courses of Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
for adults and children, as well as inroductory courses in Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
.