Mosque of Omar (Bethlehem)
Mosque of Omar | |
---|---|
مسجد عمر | |
Religion | |
Affiliation | Islam |
Location | |
Location | Bethlehem, Palestine |
Geographic coordinates | 31°42′16.34″N 35°12′20.03″E / 31.7045389°N 35.2055639°E |
Architecture | |
Type | mosque |
Completed | 1860 |
Minaret(s) | 1 |
The Mosque of Omar (
History
Early Muslim period; location
The mosque is named after
Yaqut al-Hamawi (d. 1229) relates how Caliph Omar was advised by a Christian monk to build a mosque in an arcaded building or haniyya, rather than transform the Church of the Nativity into a mosque.[5] Yaqut places the haniyya at a site where biblical kings David and Solomon were thought to be buried.[5] In the early 10th century, Eutychius of Alexandria (877–940) describes the haniyya as placed within a Christian site, facing south and thus being appropriate for Muslim prayer (qibla), and mentions Omar as allowing Muslims to pray in the haniyya only one at a time; and prohibiting them to touch anything there, as well as to call for or conduct congregational prayers inside.[5] Eutychius complained that in his time, the early 10th century, Muslims had broken these three rules.[5] The evolution of the status of this site of prayer seems to have been from an arcaded space attached to a Christian building, where at first Muslims held only limited rights for performing prayers, to a congregational mosque starting from the early tenth century.[5]
The exact location of the haniyya is not clear, but the place thought during
Modern mosque at new location (1860)
The current mosque was built in 1860,
Tensions (2000s)
On February 20, 2006, the
At the request of the Chinese government, we have not received or dealt with him given his separatist ambitions for Tibet.... Given our friendly relations with the Chinese government, which supports the Palestinian people, we asked the local (Bethlehem) authorities as well as civil society groups not to receive him and they acquiesced with our request.[6][7]
In February 2007, Israel's Shin Bet security agency arrested 20 men who were allegedly recruited for a "Hamas-linked cell" by a Muslim cleric in the Mosque of Omar.[8] Nevertheless, the mosque remained peaceful when Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas visited on Christmas Eve 2007.[9]
Gallery
References
- ^ Valentine Low & Catherine Philp (24 January 2020). "Prince Charles offers strong message of support for Palestinians in Bethlehem". The Times. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
- ^ a b "Mosque of Omar: Mosque in Bethlehem". Lonely Planet. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
- ^ a b c Mosque of Omar GeoCities: Bethlehem Homepage
- ^ a b "Mosque of Omar (Bethlehem)". Atlas Travels and Tourism Agency. Archived from the original on July 29, 2013. Retrieved January 20, 2008.
- ^ ISBN 9789004325708. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
- ^ "Palestinians refuse Dalai Lama visit again". Archived from the original on March 2, 2007.
- Middle East Times. House and Land Rights Network. 20 February 2006.[dead link]
- UPI. February 5, 2007.
- ^ "Peace talks spark tourist influx into Bethlehem". CBC News. Associated Press. December 24, 2007.
External links
- Photos of the Mosque of Omar at the Manar al-Athar photo archive