Paris Mosque
Encyclopedia
The Grande Mosquée de Paris ("Great Mosque of Paris"), located in the 5th arrondissement, is the largest mosque
in France and the third largest in Europe. It was founded after World War I
as a sign of France
's gratefulness to the colonies
's Muslim
tirailleurs, 100,000 of whom died fighting against Germany
. The Mosque was built following the mudéjar
style, and its minaret
is 33 meteres high. President Gaston Doumergue
inaugurated it on July 15, 1926. Ahmad al-Alawi
(1869–1934), an Algerian Sufi, founder of the modern Sufi order Darqawiyya Alawiyya
, a branch of the Shadhili
yya, led the first communal prayer to inaugurate the newly built mosque in the presence of the French president. Initially sponsored by the king of Morocco, it was reassigned to Algeria in 1957 by the French Foreign Minister. Under its rector Si Kaddour Benghabrit and clerics during World War II
, the mosque served as a secret refuge for those persecuted by the Axis powers, providing shelter, safe passage, and fake Muslim birth certificates for Jewish children. The mosque is currently led by mufti
Dalil Boubakeur.
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 France and the third largest in Europe. It was founded after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
as a sign of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
's gratefulness to the colonies
French colonial empire
The French colonial empire was the set of territories outside Europe that were under French rule primarily from the 17th century to the late 1960s. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the colonial empire of France was the second-largest in the world behind the British Empire. The French colonial empire...
's Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
tirailleurs, 100,000 of whom died fighting against Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. The Mosque was built following the mudéjar
Mudéjar
Mudéjar is the name given to individual Moors or Muslims of Al-Andalus who remained in Iberia after the Christian Reconquista but were not converted to Christianity...
style, and its minaret
Minaret
A minaret مناره , sometimes مئذنه) is a distinctive architectural feature of Islamic mosques, generally a tall spire with an onion-shaped or conical crown, usually either free standing or taller than any associated support structure. The basic form of a minaret includes a base, shaft, and gallery....
is 33 meteres high. President Gaston Doumergue
Gaston Doumergue
Pierre-Paul-Henri-Gaston Doumergue was a French politician of the Third Republic.Doumergue came from a Protestant family. Beginning as a Radical, he turned more towards the political right in his old age. He served as Prime Minister from 9 December 1913 to 2 June 1914...
inaugurated it on July 15, 1926. Ahmad al-Alawi
Ahmad al-Alawi
Ahmad al-Alawi , , was the founder of a popular modern Sufi order, the Darqawiyya Alawiyya, a branch of the Shadhiliyya.-Biography:...
(1869–1934), an Algerian Sufi, founder of the modern Sufi order Darqawiyya Alawiyya
Darqawa
The Darqawiyya or Darqawa Sufi order was a revivalist branch of the Shadhiliyah brotherhood. The Darqawa consisted of the followers of Sheikh Muhammad al-Arabi al-Darqawi . The movement, which became one of the leading orders in Morocco, exalted poverty and asceticism. It gained widespread support...
, a branch of the Shadhili
Shadhili
The Shadhili Tariqa is a Sufi order of Sunni Islam founded by Abul Hasan Ali ash-Shadhili. Followers of the Shadhiliya are known as Shadhilis....
yya, led the first communal prayer to inaugurate the newly built mosque in the presence of the French president. Initially sponsored by the king of Morocco, it was reassigned to Algeria in 1957 by the French Foreign Minister. Under its rector Si Kaddour Benghabrit and clerics during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the mosque served as a secret refuge for those persecuted by the Axis powers, providing shelter, safe passage, and fake Muslim birth certificates for Jewish children. The mosque is currently led by mufti
Mufti
A mufti is a Sunni Islamic scholar who is an interpreter or expounder of Islamic law . In religious administrative terms, a mufti is roughly equivalent to a deacon to a Sunni population...
Dalil Boubakeur.