The Great Mosque of Kairouan

 Great Mosque of Kairouan prayer hall facade (photo: Damian Entwistle, CC BY-SA 2.0)

    The Great Mosque of Kairouan was established in the seventh century, and was designed and build for one purpose, which was to unify the peoples of Northern Africa under a centralized form of Islam. Due to the many conflicting people of North Africa, such as the Byzantines, and the indigenous people of the area known as the Berber, Muslims had a hard time creating and keeping cities in the area. This mosque ensured that with a shared religion, the people of Kairouan would be able to portray an image of unity. The very construction of the mosque itself represents this unity, as the building consists of multiple building styles. There are primarily Islamic details present, however as time would pass rulers would add their own touches to the construct. A people called the Aghlabids would be the ones primarily making changes to the mosque, such as the distinct use of a courtyard, which echoed some Christian churches, and the use of marble pillars inside the building, which echoed Roman and Greek architecture. There were even Syrian and Iraqi art spread throughout the mosque. The mosque also happens to hold what could be the worlds oldest surviving minbar, which is a short flight of steps used to preach during a sermon. Due to the placement of the mosque quite literally in the middle of the city, it was a very public building, and would be the center of development for the city of Kairouan. Due to the central placement, all those who entered or left Kairouan would have to at least notice the building, meaning large amounts of people likely passed through it. It was considered to be an intellectual hive, where the best and brightest would be found. The fact that the building was a Friday Mosque, with Friday being the Islamic holy day, this meant it was likely the biggest building in the city. There were also markets, schools, and government buildings surrounding the mosque. All were massive, but none were larger than the mosque itself. Without this mosque, it is incredibly unlikely that the city of Kairouan would have become as much of an urban center as it had been.

Sources

Apelian, Dr. Colette, “The Great Mosque of Kairouan.” Smarthistory. Accessed October 31, 2021. https://smarthistory.org/the-great-mosque-of-kairouan-2/.

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