The Great Mosque of Salé (Arabic: الجامع الأعظم, romanizedal-Jama' al-A'dam), also known as the Masjid al-Tal'a,[1][2] is a historic mosque in Salé, Morocco. It is the main mosque of the old city. Covering an area of 5,070 m2 (54,600 sq ft), it is the third-largest mosque in Morocco.[3]

Great Mosque of Salé
المسجد الأعظم
Religion
AffiliationIslam
Location
LocationSalé, Morocco
Great Mosque of Salé is located in Morocco
Great Mosque of Salé
Shown within Morocco
Geographic coordinates34°02′24″N 06°49′39″W / 34.04000°N 6.82750°W / 34.04000; -6.82750
Architecture
TypeMosque
Date establishedc. 1130
Completed1196 (rebuilt)
18th century (major modifications)

A first mosque on this site may have been built between 1028 and 1030.[4][5] The current mosque was the result of a reconstruction and expansion by the Almohad ruler Yaqub al-Mansur in 1196. Further renovations in the 18th century gave the building its present-day appearance.[1] It was severely damaged in the Bombardment of Salé of 1851 and was briefly closed during the French protectorate in Morocco.

History

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The mosque has been destroyed and rebuilt many times since the beginning of the city's history.[4] A first mosque may have been built under the orders of Temim Ibn Ziri, a leader of the Banu Ifran tribe, in 420 AH (c. 1030 CE).[5][verification needed]

A new, larger mosque was built in 1196 under Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur's orders after the old mosque's roof had collapsed.[1] The architect of the Almohad building was known as al-Gharnati – a name which suggests he was from Granada in Al-Andalus.[6] According to tradition, 700 French slaves were involved in the reconstruction under al-Mansur's orders.[6]

 
Entrance to the mosque (center) and to the adjacent 14th-century Marinid Madrasa (left)

In 1260, Salé was sacked and occupied by Castilian forces,[1] during which 3000 women, children and elderly residents of the city were gathered in the mosque and taken as slaves for Seville.[4] The Marinid sultan Abu Yusuf Yaqub reconquered the city soon afterwards. In 1342 another Marinid sultan, Abu al-Hasan, built the Madrasa of Abu al-Hasan next to the mosque, adding to its development as a religious and intellectual center of the city.[1]

The mosque was largely rebuilt and modified over time, and its present appearance dates from the 18th century,[1] under the 'Alawi dynasty. The mosque's current minaret likewise dates from the 'Alawi period.[2] In 1851, Salé was bombarded by French forces, and the mosque was severely damaged after being struck by six cannonballs.[7]

During the French protectorate in Morocco, the mosque was used for nationalist gatherings in the 1930s, led by people such as Said Hajji, Ahmed Maaninou, Boubker el-Kadiri, and Abu Bakr Zniber.[8] The French protectorate later[when?] closed the mosque to prevent it being used as a place to awaken awareness of nationalist sentiment, but it later[when?] re-opened.[8]

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Mouline, Saïd (2008). "Rabat. Salé – Holy Cities of the Two Banks". The City in the Islamic World. Vol. 1. Brill. pp. 643–662. ISBN 9789004171688.
  2. ^ a b Ferhat, Halima (1995). "Salā". In Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E.; Heinrichs, W. P. & Lecomte, G. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume VIII: Ned–Sam. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 898–899. ISBN 978-90-04-09834-3.
  3. ^ "Great Mosque of Salé". Wassila. Archived from the original on 2 December 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  4. ^ a b c Mrini, Driss; Alaoui, Ismaïl (1997). Salé: cité millenaire (in French). Rabat: Editions Eclat. pp. 45–46. ISBN 9789981999503. Archived from the original on 2023-11-26. Retrieved 2020-10-02.
  5. ^ a b Hassar-Benslimane, Joudia (1992). Le passé de la ville de Salé dans tous ses états: histoire, archéologie, archives (in French). Editions Maisonneuve et Larose. p. 73. ISBN 978-2-7068-1039-8.
  6. ^ a b Janet L. Abu-Lughod (1980). Rabat: Urban Apartheid in Morocco. Princeton University Press. p. 57. ISBN 978-1-4008-5303-8.
  7. ^ Muḥammad bin 'Alī Dukkālī (1986). Al-Ithaf Al Wajiz, Tarikh Al-Adwatayn (in Arabic). Salā, al-Maghrib: al-Khizānah al-ʻIlmīyah al-Ṣabīḥīyah. p. 337. OCLC 427353826.
  8. ^ a b ʻAbd al-Raʼūf ibn ʻAbd al-Raḥmān Ḥajjī (2007). Saïd Hajji : naissance de la presse nationale Marocaine. Lebonfon Inc. ISBN 9780973223613. OCLC 183181000.