Ali Bitchin Mosque

Ali Bitchin Mosque

Overview:

Historic mosques spread in Algiers, and perhaps Ali Bitchin Mosque in Casbah is one of the oldest of those mosques, as it was inaugurated in 1622 AD by order of the Italian leader Bitchino, and therefore his story is still detailed in history books until today.

Historic overview:

Historical references reveal that the Italian leader Bitchino abandoned his Christianity and converted to Islam at the hands of his companion, Fathullah bin Khoja bin Berry in 1599 AD, and his name became Ali Bitchin after his conversion to Islam, and according to what historical references mention, the mosque's name was replaced in 1703 AD so that it had the name of his agent "Sidi El Mahdi."

History records that this mosque remained a witness speaking about  its founder after his death, lofty with its minaret despite the fact that French colonialism distorted its shape and reduced its height from 15 meters to only a few meters, and although the French turned the mosque since 1830 AD into a central pharmacy of the occupation army, before they annexed it to the Christian religious structures, and it became known later as the "Church of Notre Dame de L'Affique ", with changes affected its features in a way that made it lose its Islamic architectural spirit.

In the year 1962 AD, which is the date of the independence of Algeria, Ali Bitchin Mosque returned to Islam as an Islamic endowment and the cross was removed from its minaret.

Resources:

Elkhabar website

Echoroukonline website

Djazairess website

Elhiwardz website

Maghrebvoices website

Alaraby.co.uk

Alwatan website

Elkhabar website

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