Inaugurated 100 years ago this week, the Grand Mosque of Paris is France's longest-serving Islamic place of worship and a landmark for Muslims and non-Muslims alike. From its origins as a tribute to Muslim soldiers who fought in the French army to its present as a centre of moderate Islam, rector Chems-Eddine Hafiz says it has an integral place in France.
Built to honour Muslim troops who died in the First World War, the Grand Mosque was officially opened on 15 July, 1926, at a time when France still ruled over a vast colonial empire that included swathes of Africa and the Middle East.
