Address: 11, Rue Sidi Brahim Riahi, between Dar Lasram and the Hafsia square
The building was achieved in 1850, its style meshes Andalusian, Mahgrebian, and Turkish elements. In 1878 the decoration of the dome was enhanced by master sculptors from Morocco.
Sidi Brahim Riahi (1766-1850) is buried here, and the house was built as a place of commemoration and education for the Tijaniyya Sufi order.
To date, the zaouia receives followers of the Tijaniyya order and hosts their services.
ZAOUIA
The Mahgrebian term “zaouia” (also spelt: zawiyah, zawiyya, zaouiya, zaouïa and zwaya) translates to assembly, group, or circle. It is an equivalent to a “madrasa” serving as a place for religious services and as a school. In pre-colonial times, these were the primary sources for education where basic literacy was taught. Advanced studies included grammar, maths, and astronomy as well as law and theology. To date, zaouias are active in the Mahgreb and continue to be a major educational resource in West Africa. Among the influential and active zaouias, is the Zaouia Sidi Ahmed al-Tijani, the founder of the Tijani order, in Fez.
LINKS
wikiwand.com: Zawiya
wikimedia.org: Zaouia Sidi Brahim Riahi
commune-tunis.gov.tn: Zaouia Sidi Brahim Riahi
tunisie.co: 20 photos qui résument la splendeur de la Zaouia Sidi Brahim Riahi, Maître de la Tijania ã la Médina de Tunis. 7 March 2017.
Organization Arabe pour l’Education, la Culture, et Les Sciences: Zaouia Sidi Ibrahim Riahi
Mohamed Ben-Aziz Achour: Un Oulema sunnite exemplaire Sidi Brahim Riahi. On: leaders.com.tn. 14 July 2017
TIJANIYYAH
Al-Ṭarīqah al-Tijāniyyah (en: the Tijānī path) is a Sufi order that originated in Morrocco. When founded in the 1780s, the “Tijānīs” focused on social reforms and grassroots Islamic revival. To date, is widely spread in North- and West-Africa and beyond. Its adherents are called “Tijānī”, they place great importance on culture and education.
SIDI BRAHIM RIAHI
Ibrahim Riahi is known as a Sufi scholar. He came to Tunis in 1782 to study at the Madrasa Hanounet Achour und the Madrasa Bir Lahjar. Around 1790, he began teaching at the Zeitouna University. Later he became the Great Mufti and the first Imam of the Great Mosque. In addition, he carried out diplomatic missions to the King of Morocco and the Sultan of Istanbul. In 1801, he went on a mission to Morocco, where he spent some months There he discovered the Sufi order (ar: “tariqa”) of the Tijaniyya and introduced it to Tunisia on his return.
Sidi Brahim Riahi died in 1850 during a Cholera epidemic. He is buried along with some of his sons, sheikhs and theologians at the Zaouia Sidi Brahim Riahi.
LINKS
