Katib al-Wilaya Mosque or Welayat Mosque () was a small historic

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

located along

Omar Mukhtar Street Omar Mukhtar Street () is the main street of Gaza City, in the State of Palestine, running from Palestine Square to the Port of Gaza in the Rimal district, separating the Old City's al-Daraj and Zaytoun quarters. Gaza's hotel strip is a part o ...

Gaza City Gaza City, also called Gaza, is a city in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, and the capital of the Gaza Governorate. Located on the Mediterranean coast, southwest of Jerusalem, it was home to Port of Gaza, Palestine's only port. With a population of ...

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

in the

Zaytun Quarter Al-Zaytun (also spelled Zeitoun or Harat az-Zaytoun; ; Arabic translation: "the Quarter of Olive trees") is the southwestern and largest quarter of the Old City of Gaza. Prior to the demolition of the Old City's walls, it was one of the three wal ...

of the Old City. The mosque was built by the Burji Mamluks in 1432, however, the structure could date further back to 1344. Additions to the western part of the mosque were commissioned in 1584 by Ahmed Bey, the Ottoman clerk of the Damascus Vilayet (Province of Damascus). Damascus Vilayet's Arabic transliteration was ''Wilayat Dimashq'', hence the name of the mosque ''Katib al-Wilaya'' ("the clerk of the state"). The mosque was damaged as part of the

Bombing of the Gaza Strip The Israeli Air Force has been conducting an aerial bombardment campaign on the Gaza Strip during the Gaza war. During the bombing, Israeli airstrikes killed thousands of Palestinians (mostly civilians), and damaged or destroyed Palestinian sch ...

, as result of the Israeli airstrike at the nearby Church of Saint Porphyrius.

Architecture

The main body of the mosque was its prayer hall, which was rectangular in shape and dates to the Mamluk period. The entrance was located at the ''

qibla The qibla () is the direction towards the Kaaba in the Great Mosque of Mecca, Sacred Mosque in Mecca, which is used by Muslims in various religious contexts, particularly the direction of prayer for the salah. In Islam, the Kaaba is believed to ...

'' (indicator of direction towards

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

) wall.Museum With No Frontiers, 2013, IX.1.e. Mosque of Katib al-Wilaya.

Minaret

The

minaret A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...

of the mosque, rising above the mosque's eastern wall, was adjacent to the bell tower of the

St. Porphyrius Church The Church of Saint Porphyrius (, ; ) is a Greek Orthodox church in Gaza City, Palestine. It belongs to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and is the oldest active church in the city. Located in the Zaytun Quarter of the Old City of ...

. Palestinian historian

Aref al-Aref Aref al-Aref (; 1892–1973) was a Palestinian people, Palestinian journalist, historian and politician. He served as mayor of East Jerusalem in the 1950s during the Jordanian annexation of the West Bank. Biography Early life Aref al-Aref was ...

says local legend attributes this positioning of the building to the

Rashidun The Rashidun () are the first four caliphs () who led the Muslim community following the death of Muhammad: Abu Bakr (), Umar (), Uthman (), and Ali (). The reign of these caliphs, called the Rashidun Caliphate (632–661), is considered i ...

caliph

Umar ibn al-Khattab Umar ibn al-Khattab (; ), also spelled Omar, was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () and is regarded as a senior companion and father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muh ...

's orders to the Muslim general

Amr ibn al-'As Amr ibn al-As ibn Wa'il al-Sahmi (664) was an Arab commander and companion of Muhammad who led the Muslim conquest of Egypt and served as its governor in 640–646 and 658–664. The son of a wealthy Qurayshite, Amr embraced Islam in and was ...

to build a mosque next to every church in the lands conquered by the Muslims. Another anecdote claims the mosque had earlier been a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

known as Deir Salm al-Fada'il. Both of these accounts lack any verifiable basis other than local folklore. In 1432, the minaret was restored by

Sayf ad-Din Inal Al-Malik al-Ashraf Sayf al-Din Abu an-Nasr Inal al-'Ala'i az-Zahiri an-Nasiri al-Ajrud (better known as Sayf al-Din Inal; also spelled Saif al-Din Aynal; 1381 – 26 February 1461) was the 13th Burji Mamluk sultan of Egypt, ruling between 1453– ...

, the Burji ''

mamluk Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-so ...

'' who later became

sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

in 1453.

History

2023 Israeli bombing of the mosque

During the

Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip The Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip is a major part of the Gaza war. Starting on 7 October 2023, immediately after the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel, Hamas-led attack on Israel, Israel began bombing of the Gaza Strip, bombing the Ga ...

, the

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; , commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial and space warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Indep ...

bombed the mosque on 17 October 2023, which led to the mosque sustaining damage. The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor accused Israel of “intentionally destroying” historical and cultural monuments in Gaza. The organization demanded an international investigation into Israel's destruction of Palestinian cultural heritage.

Architecture

Minaret

History

2023 Israeli bombing of the mosque

References

Further reading