Al-Fath Mosque () is a mosque in the city of

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. Located in the Ramses Square, it is among the largest mosques and equips the tallest

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 ...

in the city and the 3rd tallest in the world. During the post-coup unrest in Egypt, the took place in the mosque on August 16, 2013, which resulted in the death and injury of several protesters and subsequent shut down of the mosque.

History

The mosque has its roots on the old mosque founded during the

early Muslim conquests The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests (), also known as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the founder of Islam. He established the first Islamic state in Medina, Arabian Peninsula, Arabia that ...

of Egypt. Today's Ramses Square was a village known as Um Dunin in the 7th century, in which the Islamic conquerors had established their center and the adjacent mosque as well. Later the mosque was expanded by the

Fatimid The Fatimid Caliphate (; ), also known as the Fatimid Empire, was a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries CE under the rule of the Fatimid dynasty, Fatimids, an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty. Spanning a large area of North Africa ...

Caliph A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah Abu Ali al-Mansur (; 13 August 985 – 13 February 1021), better known by his regnal name al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah (), was the sixth Fatimid caliph and 16th Ismaili imam (996–1021). Al-Hakim is an important figure in a number of Shia Ism ...

and named as "Al-Maqs Mosque". According to the map of

Al-Maqrizi Al-Maqrīzī (, full name Taqī al-Dīn Abū al-'Abbās Aḥmad ibn 'Alī ibn 'Abd al-Qādir ibn Muḥammad al-Maqrīzī, ; 1364–1442) was a medieval Egyptian historian and biographer during the Mamluk era, known for his interest in the Fat ...

, the name was a reference to the nearby castle existed back then on the island at the

Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...

, known as Qal'at Al-Maqs. The mosque was also called as Jami Bab al-Bahr. It developed during the era of Al-Hakim in the site to provide the need for the mosque within the siege area, and returning the wealth to the ordinary people. During the Fatimid-era, there were numerous palm trees within the yard, and caliphs enjoyed the view of the mosque from the fleet on the

. The mosque was also called as Awlad 'Anan Mosque, an ode to two brothers who were experts on

tasawwuf Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

during the era of the

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 ...

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 ...

Tuman bay II, Muhammad and Abdul Qadir bin 'Anan. The elder brother Muhammad was buried in the site in 1499, who was said to be lived until 120 years old, and this gave the mosque the name of Awlad 'Anan. However, this old mosque was destroyed by the French occupational forces along with several other mosques during the Revolt of Cairo in 1798. A military facility was built on top of the ruins named after a French officer.رمسيس.. مملكة الفوضي !
''Balad News''. Retrieved January 12, 2018. Later, a new mosque was established on the same place by

Arab Contractors The Arab Contractors, known locally as Al Mokawloon Al Arab (), is an Egyptian regional construction and contracting company. History It was established in 1955 by Osman Ahmed Osman, an Egyptian entrepreneur and politician who served as Egypt's ...

, and inaugurated on February 22, 1990, by the former

president of Egypt The president of the Arab Republic of Egypt () is the executive head of state of Egypt and the de facto appointer of the official head of government under the Egyptian Constitution of 2014. Under the various iterations of the History of the Egypt ...

Hosni Mubarak Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak (; 4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011 and the 41st Prime Minister of Egypt, prime minister from 1981 to ...

during the celebration of Isra and Miraj. Newly founded mosque was named as "Al-Fath" which means "the conquest" in the Islamic context, and designed by the architect Hussein Bikri. The name Alwad 'Anan is also still being used.

Arab Spring

Two days after the August 2013 Rabaa massacre on August 14, 2013, supporters of Muhammad Morsi gathered together in the Ramses Square and the neighboring area of the mosque. When the police clashed with the demonstrators, some of them fled into the mosque and the place had eventually turned into a hospital for the injured. Next day morning, the police raided the mosque, and arrested the demonstrators before it was shut down.بالصور.. بعد 7 أشهر من الإغلاق.. مسجد "الفتح" مبقاش اسم على مسمى.. ومترو "السادات" و"الجيزة" ومخرج دار القضاء العالى مجرد ذكريات.. آلاف المتضررين يوميًا والرد على شكواهم "دواعٍ أمنية"
''Youm7''. Retrieved January 27, 2018. The incident is referred to as the .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fath Mosque Mosques completed in 1990 Mosques in Cairo Mosque buildings with domes in Egypt 20th-century mosques in Egypt Mosque buildings with minarets in Egypt

History

Arab Spring

See also

References