La mosquée Muhammad al-Amîn à Beyrouth : mausolée involontaire de Rafic Hariri

• Main Author: Franck Mermier
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Université de Provence 2009-07-01
• Series: Revue des Mondes Musulmans et de la Méditerranée
• Subjects: Rafic Hariri; mosque
• Online Access: http://journals.openedition.org/remmm/6241

Plans for the construction of the Muhammad al-Amin mosque go back to the 1950’s.  It was not until October 2003, however, that the Mufti of the Lebanese Republic, Muhammad Qabbani, and Prime Minister Rafik Hariri inaugurated the construction site.On February 14, 2005, Rafik Hariri’s assassination had deep repercussions on the politics of Lebanon, the most important of which was the withdrawal of the Syrian troops from the country. Hariri is now buried in the Muhammad al-Amin mosque alongside the seven members of his entourage who were killed with him.Our article explores the origins of the mosque project through an analysis of the socio-political and symbolic dynamics that accompanied each phase of its construction.  We also investigate the different perceptions created by such a massive architectural project.