Great Mosque of Salé

Coordinates: 34°02′24″N 06°49′39″W / 34.04000°N 6.82750°W / 34.04000; -6.82750
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Great Mosque of Salé
المسجد الأعظم
Location
LocationSalé, Morocco
Geographic coordinates34°02′24″N 06°49′39″W / 34.04000°N 6.82750°W / 34.04000; -6.82750
Architecture
TypeMosque
Groundbreaking1028
Completed1029 (rebuilt in 1196 and in 18th century)

The Great Mosque of Salé (Arabic: الجامع الأعظم, romanizedal-Jama' al-A'dam), also known as the Masjid al-Tal'a,[1][2] is a mosque in Salé, Morocco. Covering an area of 5,070 m2 (54,600 sq ft), it is the third-largest mosque in Morocco, and was originally built between 1028 and 1029.[3] It has been destroyed and rebuilt several times since the original construction. It was built in Almoravid and Almohad architectural styles, and the mosque features nine gates.[4] It was severely damaged in the Bombardment of Salé of 1851, and was briefly closed during the French protectorate in Morocco.

History[edit]

Entrance to the mosque (center) and to the adjacent 14th-century Marinid Madrasa (left)

The mosque has been destroyed and rebuilt many times since the beginning of the city's history.[3] A first mosque was built under the orders of Temim Ibn Ziri from 1028 to 1029.[5][citation needed] A new, larger mosque was built in 1196 under Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur's orders after the old mosque's roof had collapsed.[1] The architect of the Almohad building was known as al-Gharnati – a name which suggests he was from Granada in Al-Andalus.[6] According to historian Abd Al-Mun'im Al-Hasidi, 700 French slaves were involved in the reconstruction under al-Mansur's orders.[5][citation needed]

In 1260 Salé was sacked and occupied by Castilian forces,[1] during which 3000 women, children and elderly residents of the city were gathered in the mosque and taken as slaves for Seville.[3] The Marinid sultan Abu Yusuf Yaqub reconquered the city soon afterwards. In 1342 another Marinid sultan, Abu al-Hasan, built the Madrasa of Abu al-Hasan next to the mosque, adding to its development as a religious and intellectual center of the city.[1]

The mosque was largely rebuilt and modified over time, and its present appearance dates from the 18th century,[1] under the 'Alawi dynasty. The mosque's current minaret likewise dates from the 'Alawi period.[2] In 1851, Salé was bombarded by French forces, and the mosque was severely damaged after being struck by six cannonballs.[7]

During the French protectorate in Morocco, the mosque was used for nationalist gatherings in the 1930s, led by people such as Said Hajji, Ahmed Maaninou, Boubker el-Kadiri, and Abu Bakr Zniber.[8] The French protectorate later[when?] closed the mosque to prevent it being used as a place to awaken awareness of nationalist sentiment, but it later[when?] re-opened.[8]

Gallery[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Mouline, Saïd (2008). "Rabat. Salé – Holy Cities of the Two Banks". The City in the Islamic World. Vol. 1. Brill. pp. 643–662. ISBN 9789004171688.
  2. ^ a b Ferhat, Halima (1995). "Salā". In Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E.; Heinrichs, W. P. & Lecomte, G. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume VIII: Ned–Sam. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 898–899. ISBN 978-90-04-09834-3.
  3. ^ a b c Mrini, Driss; Alaoui, Ismaïl (1997). Salé: cité millenaire (in French). Rabat: Editions Eclat. pp. 45–46. ISBN 9789981999503. Archived from the original on 2023-11-26. Retrieved 2020-10-02.
  4. ^ "Great Mosque of Salé". Wassila. Archived from the original on 2 December 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  5. ^ a b "وزارة الأوقاف و الشؤون الإسلامية" (in Arabic). Islamic Morocco. Archived from the original on 24 February 2011. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  6. ^ Janet L. Abu-Lughod (1980). Rabat: Urban Apartheid in Morocco. Princeton University Press. p. 57. ISBN 978-1-4008-5303-8.
  7. ^ Muḥammad bin 'Alī Dukkālī (1986). Al-Ithaf Al Wajiz, Tarikh Al-Adwatayn (in Arabic). Salā, al-Maghrib: al-Khizānah al-ʻIlmīyah al-Ṣabīḥīyah. p. 337. OCLC 427353826.
  8. ^ a b ʻAbd al-Raʼūf ibn ʻAbd al-Raḥmān Ḥajjī (2007). Saïd Hajji : naissance de la presse nationale Marocaine. Lebonfon Inc. ISBN 9780973223613. OCLC 183181000.