Great Mosque of Touba

The Great Mosque of Touba (French: Grande Mosquée de Touba) is a mosque in Touba, Senegal. It was founded by Amadou Bamba in 1887 and completed in 1963. Bamba died in 1927 and is interred inside the mosque.[5] Since his death the mosque is being 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.[5] It is the site of a pilgrimage, the Grand Magal of Touba.

Interior of the Great Mosque
Great Mosque of Touba
The central Mosque of the Mouride sufi order at Touba, Senegal
Religion
AffiliationMouride brotherhood[1]

[2]

ProvinceMbacké
RegionDiourbel
LeadershipAmadou Bamba clan
StatusMosque
Location
LocationTouba, Senegal
MunicipalityTouba
StateSenegal
TerritoryWest Africa
Geographic coordinates14°51′47.2″N 15°52′31.7″W
Architecture
TypeMosque
StyleIslamic Architecture
Capacity7,000

It is the home of the Mouride Brotherhood, a Sufi order.

History

The construction of the great mosque at Touba was conceived in the final years of Amadu 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 by 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.[6]

Design

The mosque is 100 metres long and 80 metres wide. It has five minarets, three large domes and eleven other domes, and two ablution chambers. The central minaret is 96 metres (315 feet) tall.[6]

The immediate vicinity of the mosque houses the mausoleum of Amadou Bamba’s sons, the caliphs of the Mouride order. Other important institutions in the center of the holy city include a library boasting 160,000 volumes,[6] 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 Sheikh Ibrahima Fall (the founder of the Baye Fall community).[7]

Burial

Amadou Bamba is buried inside the mosque.

See also

References
  1. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-14344082
  2. http://www.beautifulmosque.com/great-mosque-in-touba-senegal
  3. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-14344082
  4. http://www.beautifulmosque.com/great-mosque-in-touba-senegal
  5. "The Mourides: Inside the grand mosque in Touba, Senegal". BBC News. 4 August 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
  6. J. L. Triaud, 'Ṭūbā', in Encyclopaedia of Islam, ed. by P. Bearman and others, 2nd edn (Leiden: Brill, 1954–2005), doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_7599; ISBN 9789004161214.
  7. Mbacke, Saliou (January 2016). The Mouride Order (PDF). World Faiths Development Dialogue. Georgetown University: Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs. Retrieved October 28, 2019.

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