Unknown to many, the Grand Mosque of Paris played a heroic role during World War II, hiding Jewish families from the Nazis and saving countless lives through a network of underground passageways, forged Muslim identity documents, and the extraordinary courage of its rector, Kaddour Benghabrit. Built in 1926 as a tribute to the 100,000 North African Muslims who fought and died for France in World War I, this mosque became a beacon of mercy during one of history’s darkest chapters.
The Grand Mosque’s Secret Rescue Operation
When Nazi Germany conquered France and established the collaborationist Vichy government, the Nazis attempted to recruit local Muslims to assist in rounding up Jews. Kaddour Benghabrit, the respected rector of the Grand Mosque, appeared cooperative with the Nazis in public. But privately, he was executing a dangerous plot: providing Jews with certificates of Muslim identity so they could pass as Muslim, and hiding those who could not be documented in the underground catacombs beneath the mosque.
“The mosque gave Jews certificates of Muslim identity — you could pass as Muslim if you had this birth certificate from the mosque. The underground pathways underneath the mosque led out to other streets, other neighborhoods, where Jews and others were protected.”
A Testimony of Islamic Mercy
One of the most celebrated cases was Alberto Asseline, a North African Jew who escaped a German prisoner of war camp and made his way to the Grand Mosque in Nazi-occupied Paris. When German soldiers raided the mosque, a system of flashing lights warned those hiding inside, allowing them to retreat into the catacombs behind closet doors. Asseline owed his life to the Grand Mosque and the Muslim community that risked everything to protect him.
- 100,000 North African Muslims fought and died for France in World War I — the Grand Mosque was built in 1926 in their honor
- The Quran’s teachings about protecting the innocent and standing against oppression were put into practice at the highest stakes imaginable
- Rector Kaddour Benghabrit risked his own life to forge documents and hide Jewish families from the Nazi extermination machine
- The famous Parisian singer Salim Halali was among those saved by the mosque’s intervention
- This story demonstrates that Islam has always stood for justice and protection of the vulnerable — a legacy that deserves to be widely known
