The Hassan II Mosque is a mosque located on the coast of Casablanca, Morocco. It is the largest mosque in Morocco, the second in Africa, and the thirteenth in the world. Its Andalusian minaret rises 210 meters (689 feet) and is the second tallest religious building in the world.
Its construction began in 1987 AD, and its construction was completed on the night of the Prophet’s birthday on 11 Rabi’ al-Awwal 1414 AH / August 30, 1993, during the reign of King Hassan II of Morocco.
The buildings attached to the mosque form an integrated cultural complex, built partially on the sea, on an area of 9 hectares (acres) and includes a prayer hall, ablution hall, toilet, Quranic school, library and museum.
In addition to the paneling with “zellij” or colored ceramic mosaic decorations on the columns, walls, ribs of the minaret and its rim, the carvings on the cedar wood that covers the courtyard of the mosque, and the colorful engraved stucco work in the niches and friezes.
The prayer hall, with an area of 20,000 square meters, can accommodate 25,000 worshippers, in addition to 80,000 worshipers in the courtyard. The mosque has modern technologies, including the automatic roof (automatically opens and closes) and laser beams with a range of up to 30 km in the direction of Mecca.
It was designed by the French architect Michel Pinseau, and it was built by the French group Bouygues, and the project was managed by the Moroccan foundation affiliated with Bémarro.
The technology was used to the fullest extent to serve the construction industry and the Moroccan handicraft industry, with an estimated 2,500 workers, 10,000 craftsmen and 50,000 working hours.
Thus, the weightlifter, which is considered the highest crane in the world, was designed to match the great height of the minaret with its shining lantern and jamour, which is two hundred meters high. Four-fold cement was used, not to support a tunnel under the Channel, but to build an unparalleled minaret.
The Hassan II Mosque is the fruit of a succession of Islamic buildings and structures in the context of the revival and renewal of the Andalusian heritage. Especially the Moroccan ones.
It derives its nobility and beautiful features from the Qarawiyyin Mosque in Fez, a mosque that is more than a thousand years old. It also inherits a lot from the splendor of the Hassan Tower in Rabat, the Koutoubia in Marrakech, and the Giralda in Seville, all of which were built by the Almohad Sultan Yaqoub al-Mansour.
The Marinid madrasas share with the Hassan II Mosque, each of them having a treasury. But the museum, which is an extension of the treasury, makes it a real cultural complex that adds richness to the whole building as it performs its religious mission.
The Hassan II Mosque is linked to the marine element that gives it a special character, with an emphasis on the radiation of Islam in both the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. It was designed based on the Quranic verse.
Its Andalusian-style minaret is 210 meters high, making it the highest minaret in the world.
The mosque, without counting the tiles, accommodates 25,000 worshipers, while the tiles accommodate more than 100,000 worshipers during Ramadan. The minaret of the Hassan II Mosque was built according to the Moroccan-Andalusian architecture. It is distinguished by the marble that covers it, and it is equipped with a minaret and a jamur with three copper apples.
At night, a laser beam directed from its top towards the Noble Kaaba to indicate the direction of the Muslims’ Qibla draws your attention, with a range of up to 30 km.
The decorations inscribed on the marble facade of the mosque’s minaret suggest the Marinid minarets. As for the glazed panels that decorate the upper side of the minaret in white and green, the colors of peace and life.
The minaret of the Hassan II Mosque was equipped from the inside with a fast elevator that can accommodate 12 people, enabling them to reach the top of the minaret in less than a minute.
The Hassan II Mosque is one of the few religious monuments that can be visited in the city, in addition to the Muhammadi Mosque in the Al-Ahbas neighborhood; With a guided visit, you can enjoy the beauty of the prayer hall, ablution halls as well as bathrooms.
Except on Friday, four guided and organized visits take place every day, at 9, 10 and 11 am and the second after noon. The mosque’s landmarks are introduced, in addition to Arabic, in three languages: French, English and Spanish.
