Grand Mosque of Conakry

Mosque in Conakry, Guinea

9°31′59″N 13°41′03″W / 9.533175°N 13.684129°W / 9.533175; -13.684129ArchitectureTypeMosqueDate established1982Completed1982Capacity12,500 worshippers

The Grand Mosque of Conakry (French: Grande mosquée de Conakry / Mosquée Fayçal) is a mosque in Conakry, Guinea, located east of the Conakry Botanical Garden and beside the Donka Hospital.

The mosque was built under Ahmed Sékou Touré with funding from King Fahd of Saudi Arabia. It opened in 1982. It is the fourth largest mosque in Africa and the largest in Sub-Saharan Africa. The mosque has 2,500 places on the upper level for women and 10,000 below for men. An additional 12,500 worshipers can be accommodated in the mosque's large esplanade. The gardens of the mosque contain the Camayanne Mausoleum, including the tombs of the national hero Samori Ture, Sékou Touré and Alfa Yaya.^[1]

The mosque suffers from a lack of maintenance, running water and electricity, despite a large donation of 20 billion GNF by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2003.^[2]

On Friday 2 October 2009 the bodies of 58 victims of the 28 September massacre were laid in the esplanade in front of the mosque. A large body of mourners and protesters were present, leading to clashes with police. The police responded with tear gas, which flooded the interior of the mosque.^[3]

References

^ Dominique Auzias; Jean-Paul Labourdette; Dominique Auzias. "Mosquée Fayçal". Guinee (in French). Petit Futé. ISBN 2-7469-2853-1.
^ "SOS pour la Grande Mosquée Fayçal de Conakry". Guinée Conakry Info. 11 August 2008. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 2012-07-18.
^ "Remise des corps à la grande mosquée de Fayçal : Les protestataires ont déchiré le boubou de l'imam, il n y a pas eu de prière du vendredi 2 octobre 2009". Guinee Live. 2 October 2009. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-19.