“As I stood in the Grand Mosquée de Touba admiring its Italian marble and intricate designs, I was reminded of the grace we find in Jesus. While Islamic faith emphasizes works, Ephesians 2:8-9 teaches us that it is through Jesus’ sacrifice that we are saved. I keep a piece of marble from the mosque as a reminder to pray for open hearts to the love and grace of Jesus.”
Today we spent the day in Touba touring the Grand mosquée de touba. It is a two-hour drive to Touba, the second-most populated city in Senegal and home to one of the largest mosques in Africa. It’s a holy city of the Mouride brotherhood (a large Sufi order), and the burial place of its founder Shaikh Ahmadou Bàmba Mbàcke. Today the Muslims in Senegal (majority is of the Mouride) follow Bamba “a servant of Muhammad who lived from 1853-1927 and who teaches spiritual peace (who once followed Mohammed.)
The mosque is beautifully made of Italian marble and stone. Many volunteer workers were servicing the mosque with tons of imported marble from Italy. Our guide took us through the entrance and outer hall showing us the separate areas for women and men, the carpet matts on the floor, the holy water fountain, and the beautiful designs on the columns and domes.
Islam is centered around 5 pillars of faith that will lead them to “paradise”:
1. The profession of faith that there is no god but God and Muhammad is the Messenger of God
2. 5 prayers daily
3. Make a pilgrimage (at least one visit to the holy city of Mecca, in present day Saudi Arabia, or the more poor make it to the Grand mosquée de touba)
4. Give to the poor
5. Fasting
As he explained Islamic teachings, it was a challenge to hear that their faith relies heavily on works. I am reminded of the grace we find in Jesus. We know that it is through His sacrifice that we are saved and united with God. As Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” Our guide handed me a small piece of marble from the Mosque which I will keep as a meaningful reminder to pray for the people of this religion. I’ll pray for their hearts to be open to the love and grace of Jesus.
Next week is a large Pilgrimage called The Grand Magal of Touba at the mosque, expecting 9 to 10 million Muslims that will come starting Wednesday and Thursday with Friday being the beginning of the event leaving the city of Dakar and Thiès quiet and empty.
After the tour, our guide hopped into the van with us and showed us a nearby village that used to be a lake. There was a time when it was all cleared out and the people there built larger homes. The rainy season now can put it back into large pools of water such as now. They are working to get it drained but it’s challenging to get the necessary tools and parts to finish it.
Then we headed to a building with our guide to have lunch. We were unsure if it was his business or actual home but we had our own small room with couches and center tables to share a meal together. We had “Thieboudienne” the national dish of Senegal which is a dish of fish, rice, vegetables, and spices. We enjoyed some Bissap hibiscus tea (tasted like strong hibiscus and mint) and Baobab juice that comes from the HUGE baobao trees found throughout Senegal (tasted like a tropical coconut/banana smoothie)!
On our way back to Thiès, our hosts had us go grocery shopping for items for taco night! We had to find them from sticky notes written in French. When we left we gave some money to the handicap gentleman sitting outside the grocery store. He was so happy.
Taco night was prepared by our team for the alliance team we had over for dinner. It’s the new envision team being formed in the area here. We enjoyed time learning from them and taking time to pray over them.
Verse of the day:
In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. Proverbs 16:9