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Algeria -

The oldest mosque in the city of Bejaia, eastern Algeria, which the scholar Ibn Khaldun described as the greatest, was reopened in the first days of the current month of Ramadan.

The Kasbah of Bejaia Mosque (established for the first time in 465 AH / 1073 AD) is considered one of the architectural masterpieces that were engineered in a unique artistic manner, at the heights of the Kasbah of the ancient city of Bejaia, facing the Mediterranean Sea.

The Imamate of Ibn Khaldun

The scholar Ibn Khaldun (732 AH / 1332 AD - 808 AH / 1406 AD) assumed the position of imam and jurist in the mosque in the year 1365 AD.

The imam of the Kasbah Mosque, Omar Al-Farouq bin Ismail, told Al Jazeera Net that the mosque “was founded in the Hammadid state (which ruled parts of the Maghreb between 1014 and 1152 AD) and then it was expanded during the Almohad era. After that came the Spanish occupation, and part of it was destroyed, and after that came the era of the Ottomans.” "The ones who resurrected him again."

An interior view of the Kasbah Mosque of Bejaia in Algeria (Al Jazeera)

Ben Ismail continues, "After that, the mosque was closed in 1833, during the era of French colonialism, which was trying to erase everything that had anything to do with the Arab and Islamic identity of the Algerians, especially what related to landmarks that were symbolic and open to the world."

The Kasbah Mosque occupied a prominent position, especially in the Middle Ages, when this state was the scene of first-class global intellectual development, as it was full of scholars in various fields.

Kasbah Mosque of Bejaia in Algeria (Al Jazeera)

A global beacon

In addition to Ibn Khaldun, the mosque included a large number of prominent scholars, and among them was the Italian mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci (1170-1250 AD), who, after his stay to learn in Bejaia, introduced Arabic numerals, first in Pisa (Italy) and then throughout the Western world. .

The mosque was also known to the Spanish sociologist Raymond Lull (1232 - 1315 AD), the Andalusian jurist and poet Sidi Boumediene (509 AH / 1115 AD, 594 AH / 1197 AD), and the Sufi scholar Ahmed bin Idris (1172 AH / 1758 AD - 1253 AH / 1837 AD). And the Maliki jurist Abdul Rahman Al-Waghlisi (702 AH / 1303 AD - 786 AH 1384 AD), and many other famous people who left their mark on this era, which was distinguished by its scientific and intellectual achievements.

For his part, Omar Al-Farouq bin Ismail, an imam at the Kasbah Mosque, the Greatest Mosque, as Ibn Khaldun called it, told Al Jazeera Net that the mosque was built in the 12th century in the middle of dazzling gardens.

He continues, "The mosque is located on a hill with a charming view of the sea and green mountains," and it seems clear that the mosque has lost some of its splendor over the course of the wars.

A gallery at the Kasbah Mosque of Bejaia (Al Jazeera)

“In the 17th century, during the Ottoman era, the guardian of Algiers, Mustafa Pasha, tried to restore the Kasbah Mosque, but his efforts failed after they were stopped by French colonial intervention, which used the building for purposes other than religious and scientific.

The mosque was saved through renovations carried out in the 1990s, and it became used as an annex to the National Library, before regaining its original status as a mosque for worship and prayer during the current month of Ramadan.

Source: Al Jazeera