Idea #674 – Going to the Grand Mosque of the holy city of Touba in Senegal
The holy city of Touba was founded in 1888 by Sheikh Ahmadou Bamba Khadimou Rassoul. With his disciples, he participated in the development of this city, initially a simple village, since become one of the largest cities of Senegal, by its demographics, and its economic activity. The city, recognized as holy, has a special status, with a specific police and a settlement based on sharia according to the Maliki school of law.
The construction of the grand mosque was decided by Sheikh Ahmadou Bamba in 1926. The son and first successor of Bamba, Sheikh Mouhamadou Moustapha Mbacké is totally involved in the realization of the project, despite a very difficult national and international context, marked by the economic crisis of the 1930s and the Second World War. Despite the implicit opposition of the colonial administration which sought to thwart the project by imposing draconian conditions, Mouhammadou Moustapha, after having obtained from the Administration a lease on 400 hectares, is able to lay the foundation stone of the mosque on the 4th March 1932. When he died in 1945, his successor Mouhammadou Falilou M’Backé, second son of Ahmadou Bamba, took over his work.
The mosque is inaugurated on Friday, June 7, 1963 by Mouhammadou Falilou M’Backé. Since that date, it has been still in progress, with restoration phases and extension phases. Architecturally, the mosque is 6 minarets, and the Lamp Fall, 86.80 meters, in tribute to Sheikh Ibrahima Fall. The mosque has 6 large doors: the main entrance is to the east, one door to the west and two to each side. In the mosque, one reaches the mausoleum of Ahmadou Bamba, built at the north-east corner of the building, near the prayer hall.
Some Pictures
Where is it ?
Mosque of Touba ,Touba, Sénégal
