The largest mosque in Africa has officially opened in Algiers, the capital of Algeria. The minaret of the Grand Mosque of Algeria is 265 meters high, and 120,000 worshipers can pray simultaneously throughout the complex. It is the third largest mosque in the world.
The Grand Mosque of Algeria was inaugurated on Sunday in the presence of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
The facility has already been open to tourists and Algerians for about five years, so the official opening was symbolic. The delay came about due to social unrest in 2019.
It was built by a Chinese construction company, the investment cost USD 898 million.
The world’s third largest mosque was a project of former Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who wanted to create a grand mosque in his name after his rival, King Hassan II, who ruled neighboring Morocco. The mosque was to be officially opened by Bouteflika in 2019, but major protests that same year, which led President Bouteflika to relinquish power after 20 years, prevented an official inauguration. Add to that, according to AP, the building had not been named after Bouteflika due to resentment in Algerian public opinion, as well as corruption that accompanied his projects including the construction of the grand mosque itself.
The facility has already been open to tourists and Algerians for about five years, so the official opening was symbolic. The delay came about due to social unrest in 2019.
It was built by a Chinese construction company, the investment cost USD 898 million.
Grand Mosque of Algeria – short historyAlgeria has inaugurated the world’s third-largest and Africa’s largest mosque, which had been delayed for years amid political shifts https://t.co/ipJey4afJl pic.twitter.com/KBVSfeJdAO
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) February 26, 2024
The world’s third largest mosque was a project of former Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who wanted to create a grand mosque in his name after his rival, King Hassan II, who ruled neighboring Morocco. The mosque was to be officially opened by Bouteflika in 2019, but major protests that same year, which led President Bouteflika to relinquish power after 20 years, prevented an official inauguration. Add to that, according to AP, the building had not been named after Bouteflika due to resentment in Algerian public opinion, as well as corruption that accompanied his projects including the construction of the grand mosque itself.
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