- Conakry Grand Mosque
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Conakry Grand Mosque 
Grand Mosque
Coordinates: 9°31′59″N 3°41′03″E / 9.533175°N 3.684129°ECoordinates: 9°31′59″N 3°41′03″E / 9.533175°N 3.684129°E Location Conakry, Guinea Established 1982 Architectural information Capacity 12,500 The Conakry Grand Mosque (French: Grande mosquée de Conakry / Mosquée Fayçal) is a mosque in Conakry, Guinea, located north of the Conakry Botanical Garden. It was built by Ahmed Sékou Touré, opening in 1982. It is the largest in West Africa.
Grand Mosque from rear
The mosque was built by Sékou Touré with funding from King Fahd of Saudi Arabia. It is the largest mosque in West Africa and the fifth in the world after Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Al-Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina, Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca. Its four minarets, covered in green tiles (the color of Islam) can be seen from far away. The mosque is located beside the Donka Hospital. Women must cover themselves from head to foot before they can enter. The mosque has 2,500 places on the upper level for women and 10,000 below for men. The gardens of the mosque contain the Camayanne Mausoleum, including Samouri Touré, Sékou Touré and Alpha Yaya.[1]
On 28 September 2009 a demonstration against the military junta at a city stadium was violently suppressed by security forces, with hundreds of deaths and dozens of injuries.[2] On Friday 2 October the bodies of 508 victims were laid in the esplanade in front of the mosque. A large body of prostitutes were present, and people started throwing stones at them. The police responded with tear gas, which flooded the interior of the mosque.[3]
References
- ^ Dominique Auzias, Jean-Paul Labourdette, Dominique Auzias. "Mosquée Fayçal" (in French). Guinee. Petit Futé. ISBN 2746928531. http://books.google.ca/books?id=whwIw9yfdekC&pg=PA58.
- ^ "Boody Monday:VII. Military Takeover of Donka Hospital". Human Rights Watch. 17 December 2009. http://www.hrw.org/en/node/87186/section/14. Retrieved 2011-03-18.
- ^ "Remise des corps à la grande mosquée de Fayçal : Les protestataires ont déchiré le boubou de l’imam, il n y a pas eu de prière du vendredi 2 octobre 2009". Guinee Live. 02 OCTOBRE 2009. http://www.guineelive.com/component/content/article/2-guinee/843-remise-des-corps-a-la-grande-mosquee-de-faycal--les-protestataires-ont-dechire-le-boubou-de-limam-il-n-y-a-pas-eu-de-priere-du-vendredi-2-octobre-2009.html. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
See also
- List of buildings and structures in Guinea
Categories:- Mosques in Guinea
- Buildings and structures in Conakry
- Religious buildings completed in 1982
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