Smara – The city of Smara, or as it is called, the spiritual and scientific city of the southern provinces, is distinguished by its abundance of religious and spiritual facilities and landmarks, including mosques, zaouias, shrines, and places of worship unique to this region.
In addition to the zaouias of Sheikh Sidi Ahmed Rguibi, Sidi Ahmed Ou Moussa, Sidi Ahmed Laroussi, and Sheikh Ma El Ainin, there is the historic religious landmark "the Old Mosque", or as it is locally called "the Stone Mosque", which was built in the early 1960s as the first mosque in this city on an area estimated at 880 square metres.
This religious landmark, unique in its construction, which has a capacity of 875 worshippers, attracts large numbers of worshippers to perform the five daily prayers and Tarawih prayers in an atmosphere of faith filled with the spirituality of this pure place and its historical symbolism.
The Old Mosque, which is located in the middle of the buildings of the neighbourhood built by the Spanish colonial authorities at the time, forms a harmonious and well-designed model in which several architectural skills and techniques are embodied, in the traditional local style using stones in the construction of the minaret and the courtyard arcades.
This mosque, which is distinguished by a model minaret in terms of the windows opened in its facades and the construction style of the upper part of the lighthouse, which underwent expansion and development of the square adjacent to it to accommodate a larger number of worshippers, consists of a prayer hall composed of three aisles resting on octagonal columns by semi-circular arches, built with hewn stones, which is a local product called Smara stones.
As for the mosque's courtyard, it extends in the form of an open-roofed square, surrounded by arcades on its three sides, forming an extension of the side aisles of the prayer area.
The Old Mosque, which is considered one of the first mosques built in the Smara province, experiences a large turnout of worshippers during the holy month of Ramadan to perform the five daily prayers, especially the Isha and Tarawih prayers, where its sides and the square adjacent to it are crowded with worshippers.
In order to enable the visitors of this religious landmark to perform their prayers and rituals in comfortable conditions, and to make room for receiving increasing numbers during religious occasions, especially during the month of Ramadan, the landmark has witnessed in recent years the expansion and restoration of most of its sides, and the redevelopment of the square adjacent to it, with a financial envelope amounting to 13 million and 556 thousand dirhams.
The preacher of the Old Mosque, Sidi Mohamed Bachir Cherif, highlighted that this mosque is considered one of the mosques that sees a large turnout during the holy month of Ramadan, as it witnesses great overcrowding, due to its historical symbolism and the sweet, melodic voices of the imams during the performance of Tarawih prayers.
Sidi Mohamed Bachir, a member of the local Scientific Council in Smara, added in a statement to the Maghreb Arabe Presse (MAP) agency that this mosque has enjoyed a special status since ancient times, as it was a space for dhikr circles, Quran recitation, jurisprudence lessons, and noble prophetic hadiths, in addition to being a place for solving problems and disputes between tribes, pointing out that mosques today play an important role in providing tranquillity and comfort to the visitors of these pure places, and contribute to establishing spiritual security, spreading the correct teachings of Islam, and stimulating and developing religious awareness in the souls of citizens.
For his part, Abdelilah Amraoui, an executive at the regional delegation for Islamic Affairs in Smara, highlighted that the Old Mosque is considered the first mosque built in this province, noting that it forms a historical and archaeological religious landmark with significant attraction for worshippers, due to its geographical location as it is located in the middle of a group of residential neighbourhoods.
Amraoui added in a similar statement that this mosque, in addition to its historical symbolism, has all the necessary conditions for performing religious rituals, noting that the city of Smara has witnessed in recent years the construction and building of many mosques in various neighbourhoods in line with demographic growth and in response to the increasing demand for mosques, especially during the holy month of Ramadan.
A number of visitors to this mosque, which is unique in its geometric shape, expressed their keenness to perform prayers, especially Isha and Tarawih prayers, at this religious edifice, despite the distance between this religious landmark and their place of residence, to enjoy all the spiritual atmospheres that the mosque guarantees, especially during the holy month of Ramadan.
The post The Old Mosque in Smara .. a unique religious and historical landmark that attracts large numbers of worshippers during the month of Ramadan appeared first on MAP Express.
