The Magain Shalome Synagogue ( ur, ; he, בית הכנסת מגן שלום) was a

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of wor ...

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. It was built by Solomon David Umerdekar in 1893, when the region was still under

British rule The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was hims ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. The synagogue was closed in 1988 on the orders of the then

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq HI, GCSJ, ร.ม.ภ, (Urdu: ; 12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani four-star general and politician who became the sixth President of Pakistan following a coup and declaration of martial law in ...

, following which a shopping plaza was built on the location.

History

Construction of the synagogue completed in 1893, and was further extended in 1912 by Umerdekar's two sons, Gershon Solomon Umerdekar and Rahamim Solomon Umerdekar. A community hall named “Shegulbai Hall” was built by Abraham Reuben Kamerlekar in memory of Shegulabai Solomon Umerdekar. In 1916, the

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

community of

, opened a

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

school on the synagogue premises, and later constructed the Nathan Abraham Hall in 1918. The synagogue had a main signboard which designated it as the "Bani Israel

Masjid 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, i ...

”, owing to the region's

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 ...

-dominated and

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' The synagogue soon became the centre of a small but vibrant

community, one of whose leaders, Abraham Reuben, became a councillor on the Karachi city corporation in 1936. The

Partition of British India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: India and Pakistan. T ...

along religious lines between

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

and Muslims in August 1947 saw the city of Karachi fall within the borders of the new Muslim-majority state of

, following which the synagogue's front affiliation signboard was changed, designating it under the "Pakistan

Bene Israel The Bene Israel (), also referred to as the "Shanivar Teli" () or " Native Jew" caste, are a community of Jews in India. It has been suggested that they are the descendants of one of the Ten Lost Tribes via their ancestors who had settled there ce ...

Community". Less than a year later, the synagogue was attacked and set on fire by Muslim rioters following the 1948 Declaration of Independence of the

State of Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. During this time, several Jews all over Pakistan were attacked, eventually driving parts of the community to flee to neighbouring

. However, the frequency of attacks on Jews in Pakistan increased after each of the Arab−Israeli Wars in

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

and

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

. By the early 1970s, the Pakistani Jewish community had largely left for Israel or India due to the Jewish exodus from Muslim states, effectively rendering the synagogue to be largely dormant. On 17 July 1988, the synagogue was demolished and eventually replaced by a shopping plaza (Madiha Square) in the

Ranchore Line Ranchore Line ( ur, رنچھور لائن), officially named as Gazdarabad ( ur, گزدر آباد ), is a neighbourhood in the Karachi South district of Karachi, Pakistan. The neighborhood is one of the oldest in Karachi, and has a predominantly ...

neighbourhood of southern Karachi.

Post-demolition extractions

In 1989, the original

ark Ark or ARK may refer to: Biblical narratives and religion Hebrew word ''teva'' * Noah's Ark, a massive vessel said to have been built to save the world's animals from a flood * Ark of bulrushes, the boat of the infant Moses Hebrew ''aron'' * ...

and

podium A podium (plural podiums or podia) is a platform used to raise something to a short distance above its surroundings. It derives from the Greek ''πόδι'' (foot). In architecture a building can rest on a large podium. Podiums can also be use ...

were reportedly stored by a non-Jew in Karachi, while a

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

scroll case was taken by a

Jewish American American Jews or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by religion, ethnicity, culture, or nationality. Today the Jewish community in the United States consists primarily of Ashkenazi Jews, who descend from diaspora Je ...

woman to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. In 2004, she donated the synagogue's registers covering the period of 1961–1976 to the Israeli

Ben-Zvi Institute Yad Ben Zvi ( he, יד יצחק בן-צבי), also known as the Ben-Zvi Institute, is a research institute and publishing house named for Israeli president Yitzhak Ben-Zvi in Jerusalem. History Yad Ben-Zvi is a research institute established ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. In these ledgers, a

circumcision Circumcision is a procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin is excised. Top ...

was recorded in 1963, and several weddings in 1963–64. In 1973, only 15 names were written down, of whom nine were listed as “left Karachi”.

Gallery

File:Karachi synagogue interior.jpg, Interior of the synagogue, File:Entrée de la Synagogue Bene Israel.jpg, Synagogue entrance, File:Fontaine synagogue Karachi.jpg, Courtyard fountain, File:Le rabbin et son fils.jpg, The synagogue's

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as '' semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form o ...

, photographed with his son,

Notes

References

{{Authority control Antisemitism in Pakistan Synagogues in Pakistan Religious buildings and structures in Karachi Orthodox synagogues Jewish Pakistani history Former buildings and structures in Pakistan Sephardi Jewish culture in Asia Sephardi synagogues Destroyed synagogues Attacks on religious buildings and structures in Pakistan Former synagogues 19th-century synagogues Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq

History

Post-demolition extractions

Gallery

See also

Notes

References