Al-Busiri Mosque

Al-Busiri Mosque (Arabic: مسجد الإمام البوصيري, romanized: Masjid Al-Imam Al-Busiri), also known as Imam Al Busiri Mosque, is a mosque located in the Anfoushi neighbourhood of Alexandria, Egypt. It is named after Al-Busiri, a Sanhaji Sufi Imam who lived in Alexandria during the 13th century,^[1] and it is where his tomb is located.^[2] The mosque is located next to Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi Mosque.^[3]

Al-Busiri Mosque
مسجد الامام البوصيري
Religion
Affiliation	Islam
District	Anfoushi
Location
Location	Alexandria
Country	Egypt
Architecture
Completed	1858

History

The mosque was built in 1858 after a mosque was instructed to be built on the site of Imam Al-Busiri's tomb on the orders of Sa'id the Wali of Egypt.^[4][5]

Restoration

Several restorations took place in 1898 on the order of Tewfik Pasha, the Khedive of Egypt.^[6] In 2006, a representative from the Islamic Antiquities Department of the Alexandria Governorate announced that 3 million pounds were allocated to restore the mosque.^[7]

Architecture

Photo of the tomb of Imam Al-Busiri located within the mosque

The mosque contains two separate squares, the first of which includes a courtyard that contains a fountain.^[8] The second square is the Iwan, which faces the Qibla.^[9] It is higher than the level of the mosque's courtyard.^[10] The mosque also contains a shrine, which is a square room that contains the tomb of Imam Al-Buisiri and is covered by a dome which features muqarnas.^[11] The mosque contains a Minaret built in the Mamluk architectural style.^[12] The mosque is built in the same style as Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi Mosque, which is located a few meters away from it.^[3] Several verses from Al-Busiri's poem Al-Burda are displayed in the mosque.^[13]