UNIQUELY BEAUTIFUL MOSQUES OF DAKAR, SENEGAL

Dakar, 11 Rabi’ul Awwal 1436/2 January 2015(MINA) – With Senegal’s capital city Dakar being the most Western point of Africa, it has become a focal point for business and the face of modern Africa, drawing attention to its architecture, and cultural art heritage.

Dakar’s mosques and various architectural features offers its visitors a visual feast. With its green dome and 4 minarets, the Grand Mosquee Elhadji Omar Al Foutiyou is one of the most popular mosques attracting visitors to the city centre.

Another mosque, Grande Mosquee de Dakar, stands out as the one with the tallest and only single minaret of the mosque. With State leaders who wish to prayer the Friday and Eid prayers, this mosque is the mosque of choice, which also claims ownership to its intricate stone carvings and door engravings, ABNA quoted Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting on Friday.

Currently under construction and scheduled to finish by the end of 2015 is the Grande Mosquee Massalikoul Jinane, it will be the largest mosque in Dakar. Mosques built in Dakar, are usually constructed in the honour of their Islamic group leader – on the edge of the Atlantic ocean the Divine Mosque was built in honour of Islamic scholar Muhammd Gorgui Seyni Gueye.

It is on of the most beautiful mosques with two domes and continues to be a highlight for visiting tourists in Dakar. With only white dress allowed at the Friday prayers, and those without white pray in the garden outside.

Islam is the predominant religion in the country. Islam is practiced by approximately 94% of the country’s population; the Christian community, at 5% of the population, includes Roman Catholics and diverse Protestant denominations. One percent have animist beliefs, particularly in the southeastern region of the country. Some Serer people follow the Serer religion.

Islamic communities in Senegal are generally organized around one of several Islamic Sufi orders or brotherhoods, headed by a khalif (xaliifa in Wolof, from Arabic khalīfa), who is usually a direct descendant of the group’s founder. The two largest and most prominent Sufi orders in Senegal are the Tijaniyya, whose largest sub-groups are based in the cities of Tivaouane and Kaolack, and the Murīdiyya (Murid), based in the city of Touba.(T/P009/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)