MOUFALL

Dieuredieuffé Borom ToubaTouba is a city in central Senegal. It is the holy city of Mouridism and the burial place of its founder, Sheikh Amadou Bamba. Next to his tomb lies a large mosque, completed in 1963. Cheikh Aamadu Bàmba Mbàkke, commonly known as Sheikh Amadou Bamba (1853-1927), is said to have founded Touba under a large tree when, in a moment of transcendence, he experienced a cosmic vision of light. In Arabic, ţûbâ means "felicity", or "bliss", and evokes the sweet pleasures of eternal life in the hereafter. In Islamic tradition, Ţūbâ is also the name of the Tree of Paradise. In Sufism, this symbolic tree represents an aspiration for spiritual perfection and closeness to God.Amadou Bamba founded Touba in 1887. The holy site remained a tiny, isolated place in the wilderness until his death and burial at the site of the Great Mosque, 40 years later. The Great Mosque was finally completed in 1963, and since its inauguration the city has grown at a rapid pace: from under 5,000 inhabitants in 1964, the population was officially estimated at 529,000 in 2007. Along with the neighboring town of Mbacké (founded by Bamba's great-grandfather in 1796), the Mouride conurbation is Senegal's second largest urban area, after the capital region of Dakar.