Talk:Great Mosque of Djenné

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Great Mosque of Djenné appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article on August 9, 2004.

Excellent article! Some questions and points:

1. The Great Mosque is a notable exception and is known to have previously been the location of a palace. If this wasn't a sacred location before the mosque was built, what's the point of the preceding few sentences?
2. The Great Mosque was constructed on a raised platform with a surface area of 75 sq. m. That's a square of 8.6 metres on each side. Should it be 75 metres squared?
3. The picture captioned "Each Friday men and women pass through the main entrance of the Great Mosque in the southern wall" has four people in it, none of whom is entering the mosque.
4. The Great Mosque is unique in that the entire community takes an active role in its maintenance. That's a massively sweeping statement. I don't believe it.

Markalexander100 06:34, 29 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Thank you!

1. To elaborate on the architectural and cultural enviroment that style and design of the mosque evolved in and also as another reason of why the mosque is unique. It provides a the background, on why the mosque was made in the manner and in the style it was. That's why it's under history rather than design or cultural significance.

2.Yes, 75 sq. m. is correct at least according to my primary source for that figure: A Guide To The World's Greatest Buildings Masterpieces of Architecture & Engineering, ed. Trevor Howells, ISBN 1876778687.

3.The picture is of the main entrance to the mosque; the purpose of the capition was to state that the mosque is a gathering place for the community and that the main entrance is the greatest commonality. My intenion was not to imply that one was looking at Muslims gathering for a Friday service; but to show where they enter on Fridays. It could probably be said better, please feel free to do so.

4.It does seem unlikely; but every source I've been able to find on the festival says so. I've tried to find an exception; I know there is one it either isn't documented or it's very remote. I am willing to amend the sources with common sense: Would you settle for nearly the entire?

-JCarriker 07:30, Jun 29, 2004 (UTC)

Ah, my point in number 4 was questioning the uniqueness of the community maintenance; I'm sure there are plenty of mosques which are maintained by their community. If it's the festival that's unique, we can say that. Number 2: [1] says "It stands on a raised plinth measuring 75 meters (250 feet) on a side" (so 5625 square metres), which seems much more likely to me. For number 3, how about just "The main entrance, in the south wall"? The current caption gave me the impression that Friday prayers aren't well attended there. ;)

For number 1, I think that it would be easier to understand if we emphasise at the start that the Great Mosque is an exception; how about The Great Mosque is unusual among West African mosques in that its site was not sacred prior to its establishment- the location was previously occupied by a palace. Other mosques were built on the same locations as conical, mud-brick or stone spires representing the protective spirits of ancestors. Some scholars of Islamic architecture, such as Labelle Prussin, believe that these conical spires were integrated into the design of mosques throughout Mali, and point to the Great Mosque as the most prominent example. Markalexander100 08:46, 29 Jun 2004 (UTC)

I've made the changes I proposed above. I also changed the bit about removing the ceramic caps to cool the mosque to ventilate- one of the sources I came across said that the removing is done at night for ventilation, and I presume they wouldn't have to cool it then. Markalexander100 03:07, 1 Jul 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Lack of references

Hi, having references and citing them properly is now one of the important featured article criteria. Please help to add some references, preferably at least on print reference, and make sure that the information in them agrees with what is here. Thank you - Taxman 23:51, Nov 4, 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Link

I´have done some Google-Researche about this Article for the german WP and I found this Link. Maybe you find something useful in it. de:Benutzer:Zahnstein --80.135.43.225 00:58, 4 Jun 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Demolition?

I believe this it is inaccurate to say that Seku Amadu or anyone demolished or ordered the demolition of the mosque. It is (and always was) as I understand it, forbidden to destroy a mosque. What was done, as I recall from a history, was to condemn it by plugging up the drainage from the roof. All structures in Djenné have flat but gently sloping roofs with openings and a kind of fired clay gutter spout - anndalooje in Fulfulde - (usually several) for rainwater to spill out. Close those and nature does the rest.--A12n 18:59, 5 November 2006 (UTC)