The White Mosque ( ar, المسجد الأبيض, ''al-Masjid al-Abyad''; he, המסגד הלבן, ''HaMisgad HaLavan'') is an
Ottoman-era
mosque in
Nazareth
Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...
,
Israel.
It is located in ''Harat Alghama'' or the "Mosque Quarter" in the centre of Nazareth's Old Market.
The mosque's pencil-shaped
minaret
A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گلدسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...
,
[ cream-coloured walls, and green-coloured trim and dome are an example of the Ottoman architecture that is commonly found throughout the city.
]
History and ownership
The construction of the mosque was funded by the Egyptian Ottoman ruler Sulayman Pasha al-Adil
Sulayman Pasha al-Adil (c. 1760s – August 1819; given name also spelled ''Suleiman'' or ''Sulaiman'') was the Ottoman governor of Sidon Eyalet between 1805 and 1819, ruling from his Acre headquarters. He also simultaneously served as governor o ...
in the latter half of the eighteenth century and overseen by the high commissioner of Nazareth, Sheikh Abdullah al-Fahoum.[ It was constructed between 1804 and 1808. Sheikh Abdullah was granted its trusteeship in the form of a waqf; he administered the mosque until his death in 1815.][ His tomb is located in the mosque's courtyard.][
After Sheikh Abdullah's death, the managing of the mosque's affairs were transferred to Sheikh Amin al-Fahoum.][ Presently, the mosque continues to form part of the al-Fahoum family waqf, which also includes the ]khan
Khan may refer to:
*Khan (inn), from Persian, a caravanserai or resting-place for a travelling caravan
*Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name
*Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by ...
of the pasha on Casa Nova Street.[ It is administered by one of Sheikh Abdullah's descendants, ʾAtif al-Fahoum.][
The White Mosque of ]Nazareth
Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...
was erected by Sheikh Abdullah to mark the end of the reign of the former Ottoman governor, Jazzar Pasha
Ahmad Pasha al-Jazzar ( ar, أحمد باشا الجزّار; ota, جزّار أحمد پاشا; ca. 1720–30s7 May 1804) was the Acre-based Ottoman governor of Sidon Eyalet from 1776 until his death in 1804 and the simultaneous governor of Da ...
, the predecessor to Suleiman Pasha. Sheikh Abdullah chose "white" to symbolize a new era of purity, light, and peace to be enjoyed between the faiths in Nazareth.[
]
Community use
On a regular day, between 100 and 200 people attend noon and afternoon prayer services, while the Friday sermon
In Islam, Friday prayer or Congregational prayer ( ar, صَلَاة ٱلْجُمُعَة, ') is a prayer ('' ṣalāt'') that Muslims hold every Friday, after noon instead of the Zuhr prayer. Muslims ordinarily pray five times each day accordin ...
is attended by 2,000 to 3,000 people.[
The mosque serves the ]Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
community of Nazareth
Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...
by offering religious classes for young men and sponsoring the Muslim "scout troop", in which 400 boys and girls aged nine and older participate.[ It also houses a museum with exhibits that document Nazareth's recent history.]
Gallery
File:White Mosque of Nazareth - interior 01.jpg, Interior of the mosque.
File:White Mosque of Nazareth.jpg, Sign in front of the mosque.
File:Aan de deur van een moskee in in Nazareth een mededeling die dit bedehuis als h…, Bestanddeelnr 255-1092.jpg, The minaret, in 1948
File:David Roberts - Convent of the Terra-Santa, Nazareth - 1927.94 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif, The mosque in 1840
See also
* Islam in Israel
Islam is the second-largest religion in Israel, constituting around 17.8% of the country's population. The ethnic Arab citizens of Israel make up the majority of its Muslim population,
References
{{Mosques in Israel
Mosques in Nazareth
Ottoman Palestine
19th-century mosques