More than a place of worship, the Great Mosque opens a door on the Arab-Muslim culture. And his art of living. Built opposite the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, it gives a little taste of the Orient to the 5th arrondissement. You can enjoy a black soap scrub in the hammam, taste oriental pastries under a fig tree or have couscous lunch at the restaurant.
The halls of the mosque adopt Hispano-Moorish architecture. The ceilings are carved and painted in cedar wood, the galleries decorated with mosaics made in Morocco. The building was inaugurated in 1926 on the former site of the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital. He also heals wounds.
"This mosque is the French recognition of the sacrifices of Muslims who died for France," recalls Dalil Boubakeur, rector of the mosque from 1992 to January 11 last. The French Parliament, to reward the thousands of Muslims who fell for the fatherland, had even paid a subsidy in 1922 to accelerate its construction. The City of Paris donated the 75,000 m2 plot. The association carrying out the project was created in Algiers. And Algeria remains the main financier of this mosque which attracts 200 visitors every day.
Passing the masterful door in cedar wood, you come across a pretty garden paved with green tiles. On the right, the 33-meter minaret overlooks the red brick apartments on the neighboring street. On the left, the secretariat and the office of the rector. Dalil Boubakeur received here Chirac, Sarkozy, Holland, Macron. His most memorable meeting? "The one with the Dalai Lama, in Lourdes. He told me he had never seen a mosque, I invited him here. I discovered a good, spiritual man. I was struck by its simplicity: it does not complicate life! "
Meditation is only possible in the prayer room, prohibited to visitors. The hubbub of school visits, tourists, and the street slows down all meditation. We would like to be silent, in the middle of the mosaic tiles made in Morocco. It is craftsmen from the Maghreb who designed polychrome earthenware, porphyry fountains (volcanic rock) and cedar doors.
But let's go back to silence ... We find it in the library, with magnificent wooden cupboards, carved ceilings. On the shelves are aligned the volumes of the encyclopedia of Islam and numerous Korans. “The faithful give us a lot, because it's a book that you never throw away. It is passed on from generation to generation, ”says the librarian. Among these waqfs (donations made in perpetuity by an individual), we discover a Koran from the 1700s exposed in a window.
An invitation to travel
The stroll continues in a patio with a marble floor from where the call to prayer is launched. The columns, with sculpted capitals, are also made of marble. A retractable canvas roof has prevented rain for seven years from damaging the wooded heights of the walls. Next to it, a little neglected garden shelters olive trees, vines, roses. A stroll through this Hispano-Moorish architecture invites you to travel.
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The most beautiful space is the central garden, tiled in green, with its two fountains in pink marble and its squares of greenery. It grows palm trees, orange trees from Mexico, a lilac from India, cypresses, palm trees from China and even a strawberry tree from Cyprus. Ivy lines the ground.
Below, the mosque built a training center 25 years ago, the Al-Ghazali Institute. Some 300 students and around fifty imams come there every year. “We are training imams for prison chaplains, the military and hospitals, and for the first time, the Sorbonne will teach prevention against radicalization. This is crucial, ”insists the former rector. To forget this harsh reality, nothing like a treat in the tea room.
Great Mosque of Paris, 2 bis, place du Puits-de-l'Ermite (Ve). Information: 01.45.35.97.33. and on the official website of the mosque.
IN TRIBUTE… to war victims
Behind the central garden, going down a few steps, we discover two commemorative plaques in homage to the Muslims who died for France. "François Hollande had them installed in 2014", welcomes Dalil Boubakeur. One dedicates the victims of the First World War, the second plaque honors those of 1939-1945.
The engagement of Muslim soldiers for France dates back to the conquest of Algeria in 1830 and the formation of the army of North Africa. From the war in Crimea in 1856 - the Zouave of the Alma bridge pays tribute to them - until the Indochina War, the African army has shed much blood. Dissolved in 1962, it was hailed by French generals for its energy and tenacity. Dozens of regiments of Algerian, Moroccan, Tunisian and Senegalese infantrymen were engaged during the First World War. At the Battle of Verdun, 70,000 combatants lost their lives.
The politicians, supported by the marshals, decided to create the Paris mosque as a sign of recognition, in 1916. The Muslims will have to wait ten years to inaugurate it, "in a climate of sympathy and fervor", reports the former rector.
DISCOVER… a tea room for gourmets
In summer, we take mint tea under the fig tree on the terrace. In winter, we drink it warm, in the mosque's tea room. The entrance is at the back, rue Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire, just opposite the National Museum of Natural History. Tasted on the terrace, oriental pastries are 2 euros, like tea.
In the restaurant, tagines served with semolina (from 15 to 18 euros) and couscous (from 15 euros) parade on the golden trays. Outside, under the umbrellas, the tables are full of students, tourists, Parisians who want to relax in an oriental setting, next to the olive trees. The chairs are aligned against the wall, to offer the view of the trees. The floor is marble, as in the mosque.
We choose and pay for our pastries inside before taking them. Gazelle horns with various tastes, pastries with nuts, orange blossom, almond paste, pistachio. The twenty delicious varieties awakens the taste buds. We swallow gluttony in two bites. The waiter turns with his teapot, pouring the sweet mint filet into the glasses. On a blue mosaic bistro table, a pigeon, a fine connoisseur, hopes to grab a few crumbs. Entrance at 39, rue Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire (Ve). Phone. : 01.43.31.38.20.
We take this opportunity to ...
… Take a walk in the neighboring Jardin des Plantes, which is made up of eleven areas (ecological, alpine, iris gardens…). You can admire 8,500 varieties, ten times more seasonal plants, 2,000 trees and as many greenhouse plants. The menagerie, the oldest zoo in the world, brings together monkeys, flamingos, red pandas, snow panthers ...
Free entry to the garden, 57, rue Cuvier (Ve). From 10 to 13 euros for the Menagerie.
… Lunch at Café Censier, which cooks fresh, seasonal produce in its lunchtime formula, offers a starter or main dish for € 14.90.
Open daily from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m., 101, rue Monge (Ve). Phone. : 01.43.36.28.26.
… Visit the Curie museum. The place is dedicated to the family: Pierre, Marie, their eldest daughter, Irene, and her husband, Frédéric Joliot, holders of five Nobel prizes. We discover the laboratory that Marie Curie ran for the last 20 years of her life, the radium she discovered, the Curie foundation to treat cancer.
Open Wednesday to Saturday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Animation every Saturday at 3 p.m. (guided tour, workshop, conference, story ...). Free entry. 1, rue Pierre-et- Marie-Curie. Phone. : 01.56.24.55.33.
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