Djamaâ El Djazaïr urges global interfaith pact to “dry up sources of hatred,” rector says
By Dr. Hana Saada
At the vast complex of Djamaâ El Djazaïr in Algiers, the rector of the Great Mosque has called for a renewed, structured framework of global interfaith cooperation aimed at tackling the “root causes of hatred and division” in an increasingly fractured world.
Speaking during a high-profile encounter held in the presence of Pope Leo XIV, Sheikh Mohamed El Mamoune El Kacemi El Hassani framed the moment as more than a diplomatic gesture, presenting it instead as a convergence of spiritual responsibility at a time of global moral uncertainty. Religion, he stressed, in its authentic essence, is a force for peace, serenity and human security, not a vehicle for conflict or exclusion.
He argued that distortions of religious discourse in contexts of violence have obscured this foundational message, insisting that faith communities now share a collective duty to restore its ethical core through sustained cooperation across doctrinal boundaries.
At the heart of his intervention was a call for “structured and sustained” interreligious collaboration capable of “drying up the sources of hatred” and reinforcing mutual recognition, compassion and human dignity. Crucially, he said, such cooperation must move beyond theological dialogue into the social spaces where values are formed, including education, family life and youth engagement.
In his remarks, the rector said interfaith dialogue can no longer be treated as symbolic or optional. Instead, he described it as a “civilisational necessity” and an “existential requirement” in a world marked by accelerating instability and weakening shared moral reference points. Religious institutions, he added, have a responsibility to provide ethical grounding and spiritual reassurance amid this uncertainty.
Positioning Algeria within this broader narrative, he suggested that the country’s religious and intellectual tradition has long embodied a balance between rooted identity and openness to the wider world, offering what he implied could serve as a model of moderation in an era of polarisation.
The rector also underlined Djamaâ El Djazaïr’s ambition to function as more than a place of worship, describing it as a space for knowledge, dialogue and humanitarian engagement open to all, regardless of faith.
The encounter unfolded within one of the most symbolically charged religious sites in contemporary North Africa. The mosque, the largest in Africa and the world’s third largest after Masjid al-Haram and Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, combines monumental scale with an explicit ambition to function as a cultural, intellectual and spiritual centre.
Architecturally, the complex blends Andalusian-inspired design with contemporary engineering. Its vast prayer hall can host up to 120,000 worshippers, while its 265-metre minaret—the tallest in the world—dominates the skyline of Algiers.
Beyond its religious function, the site includes research centres, a Quranic school, a library designed for up to one million volumes, and cultural and conference facilities, positioning it as a major institutional and intellectual hub.
Within this setting, the presence of Pope Leo XIV carried additional symbolic weight, unfolding in a space already framed by its architects and religious authorities as a site of dialogue between heritage, modernity and global faith traditions.
— 𝐄𝐍𝐃 —
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