Why French officials placed a Muslim war memorial in the intellectual heart of Paris in the 20th century

The Grand Mosque of Paris, located in the bustling heart of the French capital, is commemorating its 100th anniversary this year. Established as a war memorial to honor Muslim soldiers fallen during World War I, it holds the distinction of being the first permanent mosque in Paris, and the only one ever built with a minaret and a dome.

The mosque's construction is deeply rooted in the complex politics of colonialism that characterized interwar Paris. Estimates suggest that more than half a million men from the French empire, comprising North African, West African, and Southeast Asian nations, fought for France between 1914 and 1918. Muslims constituted approximately 70% of the 100,000 colonial soldiers who lost their lives in battle.

Post-war, France endeavored to acknowledge the valor of its Muslim soldiers. As a scholar of French history, I regularly instruct students on deciphering war memorials constructed across Europe in the 1920s and 1930s to honor the dead. These memorials' symbolic messages often reveal more about the political and societal context than about the soldiers themselves.

The Grand Mosque is no different. The origins of the Grand Mosque trace back to the aftermath of World War I. A former colonial agronomy school in the outskirts of Paris was repurposed into a temporary hospital for soldiers from the empire. A wooden mosque, known as the Nogent Mosque, was added to the premises in 1916 to accommodate the large number of Muslim patients.

Initially, the Nogent Mosque was intended to be a temporary establishment built during World War I. The French minister of foreign affairs described it as a tribute to the sacrifices made by Muslim soldiers, though it was not intended to be permanent. Following the return of colonial soldiers to their homes, the Nogent Mosque was demolished in the 1920s.

By then, construction of the Grand Mosque had commenced, with backing from the French government and African colonial administrations. On paper, a North African religious association would oversee the mosque's construction and management, alongside a Muslim educational institute. The Society of Habous and Sacred Lands of Islam was established in 1917 to facilitate North African Muslims' annual pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina during the war.

By 1920, this private society took charge of the state-funded project to build a new monument in Paris. French politicians endorsed this arrangement for a few reasons. Firstly, it lent legitimacy to the mosque, emphasizing that it was designed by Muslims with minimal government involvement. Secondly, it enabled officials to sidestep the law separating church and state, as public funds could not be used to support religious entities.

Instead, French politicians contributed 500,000 francs to the Society of Habous for construction expenses to maintain an appearance of religious neutrality. The mosque was constructed on vacant land in the Latin Quarter, the intellectual heart of Paris, due to its availability. However, this location also provided supporters with additional talking points, as French politicians claimed that its central Parisian positioning reflected France's profound respect for Islam.

Its proximity to the Sorbonne, the country's oldest and most prestigious university, further underscored the educational and secular nature of the enterprise. Additionally, this locale reflected French colonial thinking, as argued by a French civil servant named René Weiss in a book published post-mosque inauguration. He posited that Muslims visiting Paris would benefit from "the benevolent virtues of French civilization" through its location in the area "from which French thought shines."

In essence, French culture, he hoped, would positively influence Islam. The Grand Mosque, spanning between 1922 and 1926, featured a prayer room, a library, a hammam (public bath), a hostel, and a restaurant. It served as both a religious and secular site accessible to Muslims, Parisians, and tourists. While the recognition of Muslim soldiers' sacrifices was less visible, it was the mosque's primary purpose.

Government officials frequently described the Grand Mosque as a war memorial. In 1921, Albert Sarraut, the minister of colonies, referred to the mosque as a symbol of "Franco-Muslim fraternity ... sealed on the battlefields." At its groundbreaking ceremony in 1922, Paris municipal councilor Paul Fleurot asserted that the new Muslim institute "will exist as a commemorative monument raised to the memory of those Muslim soldiers who died for France."

Post-war, monuments to war dead dotted France, with over 35,000 monuments reinforcing the secular values of the French Third Republic.