The Great Mosque of Touba ( ar, الجامع الكبير في توبا) is a
mosque
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
in
Touba, Senegal. It was founded by Ahmad Bamba in 1887 and completed in 1963. Bamba died in 1927 and was interred inside the mosque.
Since his death the mosque has been controlled by his family. It is the largest building in the city and one of the largest mosques in Africa, with a capacity of 7,000.
It is the site of a pilgrimage, the
Grand Magal of Touba
The Grand Magal of Touba is the annual religious pilgrimage of the Senegalese Mouride Brotherhood, one of the four Islamic Sufi orders of Senegal. On the 18th of Safar, the second month of the Islamic calendar, pilgrims gather in the holy Mouride ...
.
It is the home of the
Mouride Brotherhood
The Mouride brotherhood ( wo, yoonu murit, ar, الطريقة المريدية ''aṭ-Ṭarīqat al-Murīdiyyah'' or simply , ''al-Murīdiyyah'') is a large ''tariqa'' (Sufi order) most prominent in Senegal and The Gambia with headquarters in t ...
, a
Sufi order, thus making it important to that order.
History
The construction of the great mosque at Touba was conceived in the final years of Ahmad Bamba's life, around 1924–27. He also chose it as the location for his tomb. Senegal's colonial rulers of the time, the French, agreed the scheme in 1926, albeit after some hesitation. Construction was delayed because of the misappropriation of the first round of funds and then, under the direction of Mamadu Mustafâ Mbacke, Bamba's son and successor, proceeded only very slowly. In 1932 the foundations were completed; work paused in 1939–1947; and the building was inaugurated in 1963. Mamadu Mustafâ was also entombed there.
Design
The mosque is 100 metres long and 80 metres wide. It has seven
minarets, three large
domes and eleven other domes, and two ablution chambers. The central minaret is 96 metres (315 feet) tall.
[J. L. Triaud, 'Ṭūbā', in ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'', ed. by P. Bearman and others, 2nd edn (Leiden: Brill, 1954–2005), ; .]
The immediate vicinity of the mosque houses the
mausoleum of Ahmad Bamba's sons, the caliphs of the Mouride order. Other institutions in the center of the holy city include a library boasting 160,000 volumes,
the Caliph's official audience hall, a sacred "Well of Mercy", and a cemetery.
The Great Minaret of the Great Mosque of Touba is also commonly referred to as ''Lamp Fall'', which was named by the second Mouride caliph in honour of
Ibrahima Fall
Sheikh Ibrahima Fall (1855–1930) was a disciple of Sheikh Aamadu Bàmba Mbàkke, founder of the Mouride Brotherhood movement in West Africa. Well known in the Mouride Brotherhood, Ibrahima Fall established the influential Baye Fall movement.
...
(the founder of the
Baye Fall
Baye Djiby Fall (born 20 April 1985), often referred to simply as Djiby, is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a forward. Fall last played for Hobro IK in the 2018–19 Danish Superliga. Fall has previously played professional f ...
community).
Gallery
File:Grande_mosquée_de_Touba.jpg
File:Touba_009_(45908933714).jpg
File:Touba_034_(45718877585).jpg
File:Touba_035_(45718876175).jpg
See also
*
Lists of mosques
*
List of mosques in Africa
*
List of mosques in Egypt
There are 114,000 mosques in Egypt as of 2016, of which 83,000 are affiliated with the Ministry of Endowments. This list includes notable mosques within Egypt.
See also
* Islam in Egypt
* Lists of mosques
** List of mosques in Cairo
Refe ...
References
External links
{{Islam in Senegal
1963 establishments in Senegal
Mosques in Senegal
Touba, Senegal
Sufism in Senegal
Sufi mosques
Mosques completed in 1963