EN IMAGES. The new Mirail mosque, the largest in Toulouse, opens its doors on Monday
By Guillaume Laurent
Published on
Unmistakable from the trains of line A of the metro, in the direction of the Basso-Cambo station, it claims “a harmonious integration of the symbols of Islamic architecture into the urban landscape”: the Mirail Mosque opens its doors on Monday, April 18, 2022, at Toulouseafter seven years of work.
Although the event coincides with Easter, it falls above all during the festive period for Muslims: the Ramadan. The mosque team, which wanted to open the establishment “Friday for the big prayer” preferred to play it safe and postpone it to Monday in the face of the expected crowds, because “the project is arousing unprecedented enthusiasm”, rejoices Faisal BenaflaSecretary General of the Islamic Religious and Cultural Association in France (ACCIF).
Sized for 4,000 worshipers
Larger than that of Empalot, received in 2018 and which can accommodate 2,800 faithful, or than that of Al Salam, known as the “mosque of the Castle”, which also intends to push its walls in front of the 3,500 faithful that it sees arriving on Friday impasse de Londres, the Mirail mosque has a capacity of 4,000 people, and therefore becomes the largest place of worship in Toulouse, all faiths combined.
A 22-meter minaret that lights up during prayer
Accessible by metro (from the three surrounding stations), but also by car thanks to the nearby car parks, the mosque is located on Place Édouard-Bouillières, next to the shopping center Giant Casino of Basso-Cambo. It is equipped with a grand dome window 13 meters in diameter, a mihrab facing Mecca, and a minaret 22.50 meters high, which overlooks the district… and pendant light up prayer timesbut “obviously without a call to prayer on the loudspeakers outside, out of respect for secularism”, notes Fayçal Benafla.
Three prayer rooms, nine classrooms…
On a total area of approximately 3,700 m2the mosque has three levels with three prayer rooms (accommodating 1,500, 1,300 and 600 people respectively), nine Arabic classrooms, a meeting room, a library, offices, a kitchen, toilets and rooms for ablutions (a ritual act of purification by water) for men and women, and even… a gymnasium.
4 million euros “entirely financed by donations from the faithful”
Those responsible for the mosque managed to raise the 4 million euros needed for its construction in the summer of 2017. Because unlike that of Empalot, whose creation had been supported by the ministries of religious affairs of Algeria and Kuwait, this mosque is “entirely financed by the gifts of the faithful, defend the imam Mamadou Daffe, president of the ACCIF, who led the project.
“It’s a French place of worship”, insists Fayçal Benafla
“From the start, on a held at financial and ideological independence of the mosque. We were a pioneer in the field, ”said Fayçal Benafla for his part. “We have always been transparent with the authorities: the place was completely financed by the faithful, that’s also why the project took so many years…”.
“It is an approach that has guided the project from its conception to its realization: here, we are about spirituality, not about anything else. And we are independent of any influence or political organization. It is not for lack of have been canvassed by the Gulf and Maghreb countries, but always refused”.
” It is a French place of worship, insists Faisal Benafla. “’It is not intended to be the outpost of a consulate, or the place for the dissemination of any ideology.’
A project in the pipeline since… the 70s!
The Muslims of the neighborhood had been waiting for this day for years, decades even. Born in the 70s to be done with “the Islam of the cellars”, the project for a new mosque at Mirail had germinated in the 90s. “At the time, we prayed in a disused cellar of 35 m2“, recalls Fayçal Benafla. Again recently, for lack of a place of worship worthy of the name, the faithful went to from prefabricated from the road to Seysses. But for a year, this ephemeral mosque has closed, and they had to fall back on the other places of prayer in the city.
The opening of this mosque, initially scheduled for 2017, had been repeatedly delayed due to sealing problems and other “technical problems inherent in any construction site”, as well as the Covid epidemic, which had led to a cancellation of the passage of the safety commission… But after seven years of construction and as much waiting, the Mirail mosque will therefore indeed welcome its first faithful, Monday, on the occasion of the Dohr prayer, at 2 p.m. sharp.
Was this article helpful to you? Note that you can follow Actu Toulouse in the My Actu space. In one click, after registration, you will find all the news of your favorite cities and brands.