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I was en route to Casablanca during Ḍuhr prayer. I attempted to do it on the train, but as a traveler, I told myself that I could combine it with ʿAṣr at the famous mosque I was going to visit, Hassan II Mosque.
Completed in 1993 and named after the King of the day, Hassan Mosque is said to be the second-largest mosque in Africa and the 14th-largest in the world.
Unfortunately, it was closed to worshippers when I reached there; only tourists were allowed in. To enter, a visitor has to pay 150 Moroccan dirhams, which is about ₦26,000. I hesitated to do that. The security man told me to wait until 4:30 p.m., the time for ʿAṣr, to enter free of charge.
I left the mosque’s vicinity. After all, I am in a vastly Muslim-majority country. I said I would find another mosque nearby. To my shock, I couldn’t. Even gas stations nearby don’t have any—something strange by northern Nigerian standards.
I returned to Hassan II Mosque. Pressed to pee, I prayed for the opening time. Luckily, they gave us access before 4:30 p.m. I relieved myself, performed ablution, and walked into the beautiful, massive edifice. I was awestruck.
Unfortunately, there were only a few of us in the mosque. We did not fill the first two rows. It felt like I was in Cologne Cathedral, another large and beautiful place of worship with few or no worshippers.
What is happening to us? What are human beings becoming? Frankly, Morocco is far less religious than I thought. This wave is becoming more powerful, perhaps more threatening, than one can imagine. I will say more on this another time.
May we be guided, amin.
Muhsin Ibrahim, who teaches at the University of Cologne, Germany, wrote from Casablanca, Morocco during his short stay in the Northern African country. He can be reached via muhsin2008@gmail.com.