Al-Omari Grand Mosque
المسجد العمري الكبير
Religion
AffiliationSunni Islam
Location
LocationBeirut Central, Beirut, Lebanon
Geographic coordinates33°53′51″N 35°30′19″E / 33.8976°N 35.5052°E / 33.8976; 35.5052
Architecture
TypeMosque
StyleRomanesque
Date established1291

Al-Omari Grand Mosque (Arabic: المسجد العمري الكبير) is a mosque in Beirut Central District, Lebanon.

Overview

The Al-Omari Grand Mosque was originally the Church of Saint John and was built by the crusaders in the 12th century. It was converted into the city's Grand Mosque by the Mamluks in 1291. Damaged during the Lebanese Civil War, the mosque's refurbishment was completed in 2004. December 8 and 30, 2023 the mosque was again bombed by Israel [1]

History

One of the most significant religious sites in the city, the Al-Omari Grand Mosque is also one of the most ancient. It was built in 635 ACE during the reign of Islam's second caliph, Umar Bin El Khattab.

It was converted into a church during the 12th century. Similar Romanesque churches with triple apses were built in Tyre and Tartus, using recuperated material such as Roman columns and capitals.

In 1291, the Mamluks captured Beirut and reconverted it into a mosque. It was renamed Al-Omari Mosque after the second caliph, and soon became known as "Jami’ Al-Kabir" (the Great Mosque).

Its Mamluk-style entrance and minarets were added in 1350, reflecting traces of the former church's Byzantine architecture.

During the French Mandate in the first half of the 20th century, the façade was redesigned by adding a riwaq, or portico, and integrating the mosque's main entrance into the new colonnade of Maarad Street.

Badly damaged during the Civil War (1975–1990), the mosque's refurbishment was completed in 2004 in a way that reveals the building's origins and history. A second minaret was built on the northwest corner of a new colonnaded courtyard. Beneath it, an ancient cistern with Roman columns and stone vaults has been preserved.

Timeline

  • 635: The mosque was built during the reign of the caliph Umar Bin Al-Khattab.
  • 1150: The crusaders converted it to the Church of Saint John.
  • 1291: The Mamluks recaptured Beirut and re-converted the church into a mosque.
  • 1350: The Mamluk-style entrance and minaret of the mosque were added.
  • 1975–1990: During the Civil War, the mosque was badly damaged .
  • 2004: The mosque's refurbishment was completed.
  • Israel bombs the mosque on several dates in December 2023 during the Gaza war.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Images show major damage to Gaza's oldest mosque". BBC News. 2023-12-08. Retrieved 2023-12-30.
  2. ↑ "Gaza's oldest, largest mosque destroyed by Israeli bombs". EFE Noticias. 2023-12-08. Retrieved 2023-12-08.
  • Al-Wali, Sheikh Mohammad Taha (1973) Tarikh al-masajid wal jawami’ al-sharifa fi Bayrout, Dar al-Kotob, Beirut.
  • Enlart, Camille (1904) "La Cathédrale Saint-Jean de Beyrouth" in: Société Nationale des Antiquaires de France: centenaire 1804-1904, Klincksieck, Paris: 121-133.
  • Information provided by architect Youssef Haidar, Beirut.
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