Initiated by former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the great mosque in Algiers, whose construction was completed a year and a half ago, is to be consecrated on October 28 with a collective prayer on the eve of Mawlid’s celebration celebrating the birth of the Prophet Muhammad. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is expected to lead the inauguration if his health permits. He has been hospitalized since October 27 at a military hospital in Algiers due to positive Covid-19 cases in his entourage.
The monumental Grand Mosque in Algiers has a minaret rising to 267 meters, the tallest in the world, but also 43 floors served by panoramic lifts, a large prayer room that can accommodate up to 120,000 faithful, an interior decorated with six kilometers of calligraphy, noble forests, marble or alabaster, but also turquoise rugs with floral motifs. The mosque, which covers an area of 27.5 hectares, is estimated to be the third largest mosque in the world and the most monumental in Africa.
It also consists of twelve independent buildings, including a large library that can hold a million books. Five imams and five muezzins are tasked with working on the fatwas to harmonize them with life in Algeria. The goal is to “fight religious and secular radicalisms,” assures theologian Kamel Chekkat.
This mosque built by a Chinese company that brought in a large number of its workers will have cost the Algerian taxpayer more than 750 million euros. What is not without arouse criticism in this country where unemployment exceeds 10%.
► To read too: Algeria: the construction of the Great Mosque in Algiers criticized
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