The Hubous ( ''al-Hubous'' or حَي الأَحْباس ''Hay al-Aḥbās''), or colloquially Habous, is one of the older neighborhoods of
Casablanca
Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
,
Morocco. Its development dates back to 1916, in the early stages of the
French protectorate. The neighborhood is a cultural and religious center for Casablanca and for Morocco, as it hosts the Moroccan Ministry of Islamic Affairs as well as bookstores of important Moroccan and Arabic publishing houses.
The many traditional and historic buildings also make the Hubous a popular tourist destination.
Name
The words ''ḥubous'' () and ''aḥbās'' () are plurals of the word ''ḥabs'' (), also called a ''
waqf'' (وَقْف): an
inalienable charitable real estate
endowment
Endowment most often refers to:
*A term for human penis size
It may also refer to: Finance
*Financial endowment, pertaining to funds or property donated to institutions or individuals (e.g., college endowment)
*Endowment mortgage, a mortgage to b ...
for
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic religious purposes or charity. The Moroccan
Ministry of Hubous and Islamic Affairs is located in the neighborhood.
History
In 1916, almost a decade after the
French invasion and occupation of Casablanca and four years after the official establishment of the
French protectorate, General
Lyautey's handpicked urban planner
Henri Prost and his team decided to build, to the east of the new center, a "," a new development for Muslims including a palace for the sultan.
A Moroccan Jewish man named
Haim Ben-Dahan
The name ''Haim'' can be a first name or surname originating in the Hebrew language, or deriving from the Old German name ''Haimo''.
Hebrew etymology
Chayyim ( he, חַיִּים ', Classical Hebrew: , Israeli Hebrew: ), also transcribed ''Haim ...
, a cereal trader and financier, owned the land and gifted it to the sultan.
However, it was not acceptable for a gift of land to be given from a Jew to the sultan, an administration of
religious properties, now the
Ministry of Hubous and Islamic Affairs, was established to receive and administer the land, and still owns it today.
The
Mosque of Sultan Yusuf was designed by
Auguste Cadet and
Edmond Brion
Edmond Brion (1885 Soissons - 1973) was a French architect active in Casablanca during the French Protectorate.
Biography
After World War I and after having studying at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in the Paulin studio, Brion settled in ...
, and the
Mosque of Sultan Muhammad Bin Yusuf was designed by Cadet and built from 1934 to 1936.
Mahkamat al-Pasha, one of the most important buildings in the Hubous, was built 1941–1942.
See also
*
Royal Palace of Casablanca
References
Neighbourhoods of Casablanca
Morocco geography articles needing translation from French Wikipedia
{{CasablancaSettat-geo-stub