Sidi Khaled Mosque

Sidi Khaled Mosque
Sidi Khaled Mosque
Arabic: مسجد سيدي خالد
Religion
Affiliation	Islam
Province	Biskra Province
Deity	Khaled bin Sinan
Location
Location	Sidi Khaled, Algeria
State	Ouled Djellal
Country	Algeria
	Location in Algeria
Geographic coordinates	34°23′10″N 5°00′39″E / 34.386126°N 5.010815°E
Architecture
Type	mausoleum and mosque
Style	Algerian
Date established	Unknown, but the structure has existed before the 16th century
Completed	1917 (current form)
Specifications
Dome(s)	7
Minaret(s)	1
Shrine(s)	1

The Sidi Khaled Mosque (Arabic: مسجد سيدي خالد, French: Mosquée de Sidi Khaled) is a historic mosque and mausoleum located in the town of Sidi Khaled in Biskra, Algeria. It is one of Algeria's national heritage sites.^[1]

The mosque is believed to contain the tomb of Khaled bin Sinan, an early pre-Islamic religious figure who was said to have been the descendant of Ishmael. Local traditions assert that he was buried in Algeria, although this is mostly legendary fiction.^[2]^[3]

History

Sidi Khaled Mosque is said to have been one of the oldest mosques in Algeria.^[3]^[2] The Algerian scholar, Abdur-Rahman al-Akhdari, visited a tomb dedicated to Khalid bin Sinan that was located in Biskra.^[1] He also composed a poem about Khalid bin Sinan upon his visit to the tomb.^[2] Some historians, however, have doubted the authenticity of the poem and whether it can be attributed to Al-Akhdari.^[2] Nevertheless, Al-Akhdari is credited as being the first to write about the tomb, and is sometimes attributed to even be the founder of the tomb.^[2] The traveller Al-Ayyashi wrote about the tomb in 1668, describing it as being located inside a large mosque that was attached to a madrasah.^[1]

Modern history

In 1912, the incoming floods destroyed the mosque and its mausoleum.^[1] Five years later, the residents of Biskra rebuilt the mausoleum, with the help of prominent architects.^[3] In 1999, the mosque and its mausoleum were classified as a national heritage monument of Algeria.^[1] The present-day structure is the 1917 reconstruction, with an additional six years to complete the rest of the building.^[3]

In recent times, the mosque was placed under a restoration project by the government due to it suddenly being a deteriorating state, such as cracks appearing in the walls.^[1] The Ministry of Culture was responsible for organizing this restoration project.^[3] However, the project was delayed, and put on hold. As of 2021, the project is still delayed and no further updates have been given, and it was also reported that the roof is in danger of collapsing.^[3] Regardless, this place is still a popular destination amongst the locals of Biskra, who visit it usually on the 26th day of the month of Ramadan.^[3]