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 Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

. 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 A waqf ( ar, وَقْف; ), also known as hubous () or '' mortmain'' property is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charitabl ...

'' (وَقْف): an

inalienable ''InAlienable'' is a 2007 science fiction film with horror and comic elements, written and executive produced by Walter Koenig, and directed by Robert Dyke. It was the first collaboration of Koenig and Dyke since their 1989 production of ''Moon ...

charitable real estate endowment 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 Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

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 Henri Prost (February 25, 1874 – July 16, 1959) was a French architect and urban planner. He was noted in particularly for his work in Morocco and Turkey, where he created a number of comprehensive city plans for Casablanca, Fes, Marrakesh ...

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, 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

, was established to receive and administer the land, and still owns it today. The

Mosque of Sultan Yusuf 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 ...

was designed by

Auguste Cadet Auguste may refer to: People Surname * Arsène Auguste (born 1951), Haitian footballer * Donna Auguste (born 1958), African-American businesswoman * Georges Auguste (born 1933), Haitian painter * Henri Auguste (1759–1816), Parisian gold a ...

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 Al-Mohammadi Mosque () is a large mosque in the Habous quarter of Casablanca, Morocco. It was built circa 1935 and its construction was sponsored by Sultan Mohammed V, after whom it is named. Construction on the mosque started on 29 June 1934 a ...

was designed by Cadet and built from 1934 to 1936.

Mahkamat al-Pasha Mahkamat al-Pasha ( "the pasha's courthouse," ) is an administrative building constructed 1941-1942 in the Hubous neighborhood of Casablanca, Morocco. The complex serves or has served as a courthouse, residence of the pasha (governor), parliament ...

, one of the most important buildings in the Hubous, was built 1941–1942.

References

Neighbourhoods of Casablanca Morocco geography articles needing translation from French Wikipedia {{CasablancaSettat-geo-stub

Name

History

See also

References