An active mosque and cultural institution in Paris’s 5th arrondissement, the Grande Mosquée was built after the First World War to honor Muslim soldiers who died for France. Its North African crafts, garden, memorials, and colonial-era origins give the complex a layered story.
Quick facts
The mosque was built from 1922 to 1926 on land provided by the City of Paris, with state funding and financing through the Société des Habous and North African Muslim subscriptions.
Its neo-Moorish complex was designed from plans by Maurice Tranchant de Lunel and developed by Robert Fournez, Maurice Mantout, and Charles Heubès, with decorative work by Maghrebi artists and craftspeople.
The City of Paris reports archival evidence that the mosque issued false Muslim identity certificates to some North African Jews during the German occupation; reports of children sheltered in its cellars remain uncertain.
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Guide
In the 5th arrondissement, the Grande Mosquée de Paris is both an active place of worship and a public monument shaped by France’s relationship with Muslim communities. Its story holds two truths together: it was built to honor Muslim soldiers who died for France, and it rose within a colonial project that sought to define Islam’s place in the French Republic.
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