France, March 7 -- The Grand Mosque's minaret rises 33 metres above the Latin Quarter on the Left Bank of the French capital. Behind the heavy wooden doors of its green and white Arabo-Andalusian buildings are tiled courtyards, a library, a restaurant, gardens with fountains, even a hammam.

It is one of Paris's most recognisable religious landmarks.

The first stone was laid in 1922 and the mosque was inaugurated in July 1926, in the presence of French president Gaston Doumergue and the sultan of Morocco, Moulay Youssef.

The idea to build the mosque dated back to the mid-19th century and was promoted by French Orientalists, including Louis Massignon, an influential Western expert on Muslim thought. It gained momentum in 1916 and wa...