Paris Mosque

Minaret of the Paris Mosque

The Grande Mosquée de Paris ("Great Mosque of Paris"), located in the Ve arrondissement, was founded after World War I as a sign of France's gratefullness to the Muslim tirailleurs from the colonies who had fought against Germany. The Mosque was built following the mudéjar style, and its minaret is 33 meteres high. President Gaston Doumergue inaugurated it on July 15, 1926. Ahmad al-Alawi (1869-1934), an Algerian Sufi, founder of one of the most important modern Sufi orders, the Darqawiyya Alawiyya, a branch of the Shadhiliyya, led the first communal prayer to inaugurate the newly built mosque in the presence of the French president. It is now lead by mufti Dalil Boubakeur, who is also president of the French Council of the Muslim Faith, created in 2002.