The Sheikh Muhammad Mosque (), is a former

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 ...

and historical architectural monument, located in the Basqal State Historical-Cultural Reserve in the

Ismayilli District Ismayilli District () is one of the 66 Administrative divisions of Azerbaijan, districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the north of the country, in the Mountainous Shirvan Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Qabala District, ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

. Completed in 1531, the former mosque has been partially restored.

About

The Sheikh Muhammad Mosque was built in 1531 under the orders of Pir Muhammad, the son of Sufi Dervish Ali. The mosque is located in the Kələküçə neighborhood of

Basqal Basgal (also, Azizbekovo, Baskal, and Baskhal) is a settlement and municipality in the Ismailli Rayon of Azerbaijan. It has a population of 200. Gallery Basqal küçələri 1.jpg, Basqal küçələri 2.jpg, Basqal küçələri 3.jpg, Basqa ...

. 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 ...

operated in the mosque's courtyard. After the

Soviet occupation During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed several countries effectively handed over by Nazi Germany in the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. These included the eastern regions of Poland (incorporated into three differe ...

in Azerbaijan, the official campaign against religion began in 1928. In December of that year, the Central Committee of the

Azerbaijan Communist Party The Azerbaijan Communist Party (; ) was the ruling political party in the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, Azerbaijan SSR, making it effectively a branch of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. It was formed on 20 February 1920, when ...

transferred many mosques, churches, and synagogues to the balance of clubs for educational purposes. While there were 3,000 mosques in Azerbaijan in 1917, this number dropped to 1,700 in 1927, 1,369 in 1928, and 17 in 1933. Sheikh Muhammad Mosque was closed for worship during this period. About twenty stone inscriptions in the mosque's courtyard were destroyed, and the twin minarets were dismantled. The mosque building was repurposed as a club. In 1975, the building was completely destroyed by a fire caused by a short circuit in the electrical network. In the 1980s, local people carried out restoration work on the mosque. During this work, they discovered an inscription about Pir Çinar, which was planted beside the mosque. The inscription noted that Pir Çinar was planted by Sheikh Safayi in 1568. In 1989, the Basqal State Historical-Cultural Reserve was established in the area including the mosque.

Archaeological excavations

In 2019, at the request of the State Tourism Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, an expedition from the Archaeology and Ethnography Institute of the

Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS) (, located in Baku, is the main state research organization and the primary body that conducts research and coordinates activities in the fields of science and social sciences in Azerbaijan. It was ...

, led by Prof. Dr. Qafar Cəbiyev, conducted archaeological research inside and in the courtyard of Sheikh Muhammad Mosque. Inside the former mosque, remains of a smaller, square-shaped mosque in the style of

Shirvanshah The Shirvanshahs (Arabic/) were the rulers of Shirvan (in present-day Azerbaijan) from 861 to 1538. The first ruling line were the Yazidids, an originally Arab and later Persianized dynasty, who became known as the Kasranids (also referred t ...

s period Islamic architecture were uncovered. Several inscriptions were also discovered during the excavation.

References

External links

{{Mosques in Azerbaijan 16th-century mosques in Persia Former mosques in Azerbaijan Islamic architecture in Azerbaijan Monuments and memorials in Azerbaijan Mosque buildings with minarets in Azerbaijan Mosques completed in the 1530s Religious buildings and structures completed in 1531

About

Archaeological excavations

See also

References

External links