The Kebir Mosque (; ; ; , all transliterated as Kebir-Jami) is located in

Simferopol Simferopol ( ), also known as Aqmescit, is the second-largest city on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, but controlled by Russia. It is considered the cap ...

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

. The Kebir Mosque is a prominent architectural monument in Simferopol and the oldest building in the city.

History

In 1508, or 914 Hijri by the Muslim calendar, Kebir Mosque was dedicated. Writing at the entrance of the mosque in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

states: "This mosque was built for the Glory of the Mightiness of the Khan

Meñli I Giray Meñli I GirayCrimean Tatar language, Crimean Tatar, Ottoman Turkish and (1445–1515) was thrice the List of Crimean khans, khan of the Crimean Khanate (1466, 1469–1475, 1478–1515) and the sixth son of Hacı I Giray. Biography Stru ...

, may Allah forgive all sins of himself and his children in the month of

Muharram Al-Muharram () is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is banned. It precedes the month of Safar. The tenth of Muharram is known as Ashura, an important day of commemoration in ...

in the year of nine hundred and fourteen". It is believed that the white walls of the mosque gave name to the medieval city of Aqmescit (White Mosque). Through the years the mosque has undergone reconstruction many times. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Kebir mosque was left in a state of neglect. For several years the mosque was used as a book-cover workshop. After the return of the

Crimean Tatars Crimean Tatars (), or simply Crimeans (), are an Eastern European Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group and nation indigenous to Crimea. Their ethnogenesis lasted thousands of years in Crimea and the northern regions along the coast of the Blac ...

from

deportation Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people by a state from its sovereign territory. The actual definition changes depending on the place and context, and it also changes over time. A person who has been deported or is under sen ...

a revival of the old mosque began: in 1989 the mosque was given back to the Muslim community. Reconstruction began in late October 1991. Today, Kebir Mosque is the main

Friday mosque A congregational mosque or Friday mosque (, ''masjid jāmi‘'', or simply: , ''jāmi‘''; ), or sometimes great mosque or grand mosque (, ''jāmi‘ kabir''; ), is a mosque for hosting the Friday noon prayers known as ''jumu'ah''.See: * * * * ...

of Crimea, it is the residence of the

Mufti A mufti (; , ) is an Islamic jurist qualified to issue a nonbinding opinion ('' fatwa'') on a point of Islamic law (''sharia''). The act of issuing fatwas is called ''iftāʾ''. Muftis and their ''fatāwa'' have played an important role thro ...

and the location of the Spiritual Direction of the Muslims of Crimea. The grounds also included a

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...

h (educational institution) and the Crimean Tatar library.

References

Mosques in Crimea Buildings and structures in Simferopol Mosques completed in the 1500s Religious buildings and structures completed in 1508 Closed mosques in the Soviet Union Cultural heritage monuments of regional significance in Crimea Anti-Islam sentiment in Russia {{Europe-mosque-stub

History

See also

References