Tunisia Seeks to Revive Status of Al-Zaytuna Mosque in Muslim World
Al-Zaytuna is the main mosque in the capital of Tunis. It dates back to the first Hijri century (7th century AD).
It was built in 79 Hijri (698 AD) at the order of Hissan ibn Nu’man. Later, in 732 AD, Ubaidullah ibn Habhab completed the building.
The mosque covers an area of 5,000 square meters and has nine entrances.
It has 184 columns brought originally from the ruins of the old city of Carthage.
The mosque is among the oldest in the Maghreb region of Africa and has hosted many classes in different fields such as Quran, Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), languages, history, and medicine.
It is also known to host one of the first and greatest universities in the history of Islam. Many Muslim scholars were graduated from the Al-Zaytuna for over a thousand years.
They include great sociologist, philosopher and historian Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406 AD) and famous Tunisian poet Aboul-Qacem Echebbi.
Recently, Tunisia’s Religious Affairs Minister Ibrahim Chaibi underlined efforts to revive the status of the mosque as a symbol of religion and knowledge.
