The Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque ( ar, 1=جامع محمد الأمين), also referred to as the Blue Mosque, is a

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagree ...

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

located in downtown

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

. In the 19th century, a Zawiya (prayer corner) was built on this site. Decades of preparation to obtain sufficient land adjacent to the old Zawiya led finally to the building of the new

. It was inaugurated in 2008.

Construction

The Mohammad Al-Amin mosque is the biggest mosque in Lebanon. In the initial steps of building this mosque, Hariri endured many obstacles such as rights of property and funding the actual building. In preparation for the mosque, panels were placed which signified that a mosque was going to be built. Soon after the Lebanon Civil War, very little was left. Following a donation by late

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Rafic Hariri Rafic Bahaa El Deen Al Hariri ( ar, رفيق بهاء الدين الحريري; 1 November 1944 – 14 February 2005) was a Lebanese business tycoon and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998 and again from ...

, the foundation stone for the Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque was laid in November 2002. The design is evocative of the

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

’ monumental

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

: with a built area covering approximately 11,000 square meters, a 48-meter-high blue dome and 65-meter-high minarets (placed on the corners of the mosque), the

has become a dominant feature of the

City Center skyline. It was inaugurated in 2008. The Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque contains multiple domes. All of the domes of the mosque are made from light blue tiles. The mosque also has multiple arches, which are couple stories high. The mosque has very similar characteristics to the Sultan Ahmed Mosque. In commencement of the mosque, Hariri commissioned Oger Liban. Hariri also hired Azmi Fakhouri as the main architect for the mosque. After the first stone was laid out for the mosque, the first concrete was poured in 2003. By 2005, the architecture of the mosque began to be built. The main stone used for the mosque was the Yellow Riyadh Stone. While he had other architects and artists to make this mosque, Rafic Hariri was very involved in the making of the building's exterior decor.

Significance of the Zawiya with the Ottoman Empire

Understanding the role that Muhammad plays in Islam's spread is predominant because he went throughout communities preaching about the revelations given to him and knowledge about this new faith. There are many buildings that are still standing that represent history including the Mohammad Al-Amin mosque that was believed to be named after Muhammad. The Ottoman empire's Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid had Shaykh Muhammad Abu Nasr Al-Yafi originally had the mosque named "Zawiya Abu Nasr" and then was later on carrying the name in reference to Muhammad. The Zawiya was given to the sultan for the people of Beirut that were Muslims. The Zawiya is already known to mean the "angle" and could be related to the word "sufism." The similarities between these two words is the history that comes from the nineteenth century and to the year of 1853.

Interior and Exterior Design

Mohamad al amin mosque ceiling - panoramio

The heightened dome of this mosque is represented just like how many mosques have this common feature. Understanding both the interior and exterior design helps show the significance of the building and how it was formed with a purpose. The formal properties of a building include scale, ornament, materials, topography, routes and light. When looking at the interior details you can see patterned ceilings and a dome circle. The light that is within the building throughout the day comes from the square windows circled around the ceiling in the dome. The ornament that seems to be a chandelier dangles in front of the mihrab and could used as an extra source of lighting when the sun goes down
As for the scale of this mosque it is surrounded by four minarat that are 65m tall.
The height of these minaret surrounding can help with the acoustics because the sound can travel everywhere around so people can hear the Azan.

Timeline

19th century: A Zawiya (prayer corner) was built on the site of what is today the Al-Amin Mosque, and named after Sheikh Abu Nasr Al-Yafi. 1950: Mohammad Al-Amin Association was created to replace the Zawiya with a

. 1975: Souk Abu Nasr and the Zawiya stop operating, following outbreak of the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...

. November 2002: Foundation stone of the new

was laid after a donation by late

Rafik Hariri Rafik is the given name of: *Rafik Al-Hariri (1944–2005), business tycoon, former Prime Minister of Lebanon *Rafik Bouderbal (born 1987), French-born Algerian player currently playing for ES Sétif in the Algerian Championnat National *Rafik Deg ...

. 2008: Inauguration of the mosque. 2020: The mosque suffers severe damage in the

2020 Beirut explosions On 4 August 2020, a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored at the Port of Beirut in the capital city of Lebanon exploded, causing at least 218 deaths, 7,000 injuries, and US$15 billion in property damage, as well as leaving an estimated 30 ...

History

In the 19th century, a Zawiya (prayer corner) named after Sheikh Abu Nasr al-Yafi was built on this site. Souk Abu Nasr was located in the same area and was operational, with the Zawiya, until 1975. Following earlier efforts by Beiruti families, the Mohammad Al-Amin Association was created in the 1950s in order to replace the Zawiya with a

, in the name of Mohammad, and acquire more land. The project never materialized. It took decades of preparation to obtain sufficient land adjacent to the old Zawiya to build the new

. Following a donation by late Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, the foundation stone for the Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque was laid in November 2002. With its built area covering approximately 11,000 square meters, its 48-meter-high blue dome and 65-meter-high minarets, the

has become a dominant feature of the

City Center skyline. Inaugurated in 2008, its design is evocative of the

’ monumental architecture. During the construction of the

on this corner of

Martyrs’ Square Martyrs' Square ( ; french: Place des Martyrs), historically known as "Al Burj" or "Place des Cannons", is the historical central public square of Beirut, Lebanon. Like the Martyr's Square in Damascus, it is named after the 6 May 1916 executi ...

, archaeologists uncovered a large section of the east-west main

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

street (Decumanus Maximus), with paving and columns. The prime minister Rafic Hariri was assassinated on February 14th, 2005 and his body is buried next to the mosque in downtown Beirut, within the Martyr square of Beirut. The mosque was used for the ceremony of the funeral of Hariri. This mosque has been utilized as a symbolic piece of architecture in Lebanon, as it has been the main area of many important political and economical affairs in the country. The mosque was badly damaged by the Beirut explosions on 4 August 2020. Its chandeliers and windows were shattered, and broken glass fell all over the floor.

References

*Vloeberghs, Ward (2008) “The Genesis of a Mosque: Negotiating Sacred Space in Downtown Beirut”, European University Institute Working Papers 17, Robert Shuman Center for Advanced Studies, Florence. *Hallaq, Hassan (1987) Al-tarikh alijtima'i wa al-siyasi wa al-iqtisadi fi Bayrut, ocial, Political and Economic History of Beirut Dar al-Jami'at, Beirut. *Hallaq, Hassan (1987) Bayrut al-mahrousa fil'ahd al-'uthmâni, eirut during the Ottoman Period Dar al-Jami'at Beirut. *Knudsen, Are (December 2016). "Death of a Statesman - Birth of a Martyr". ''Anthropology of the Middle East''. Vol. 11: 1–17 – via Proquest.

External links

Mohamad Al Amine Mosque On Google Maps Street View By Paul Saad

ArchNet info
{{Authority control Mosques completed in 2008 Mosques in Beirut Mosque buildings with domes Sunni Islam in Lebanon Sunni mosques 2020 Beirut explosion