The Umm al-Nasr Mosque (), also known as the Beit Hanoun Mosque, was, until its destruction, the oldest

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 ...

in the

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

city of

Beit Hanoun Beit Hanoun or Beit Hanun () is a Palestinian city on the northeast edge of the Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 52,237 in 2017. As a result of the ongoing Gaza war, Beit Hanou ...

in the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

. Located in the center of the city, the mosque was built in 1239 CE and destroyed in November 2023, during the Israel–Hamas war.

History

The Umm al-Nasr Mosque was built in 1239 CE by the

Ayyubid The Ayyubid dynasty (), also known as the Ayyubid Sultanate, was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultan of Egypt, Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate of Egyp ...

s to commemorate their soldiers who had died in the battle on the mosque site between them and the

Crusader Crusader or Crusaders may refer to: Military * Crusader, a participant in one of the Crusades * Convair NB-36H Crusader, an experimental nuclear-powered bomber * Crusader tank, a British cruiser tank of World War II * Crusaders (guerrilla), a C ...

s. The Ayyubids were victorious, hence the name ''Umm al-Nasr'' ("Mother of Victories"). The inscription on the wall above the mosque entrance attributes the construction to Ayyubid sultan

al-Adil II Al-Malik al-ʿĀdil Sayf ad-Dīn Abū Bakr ibn Nāṣir ad-Dīn Muḥammad (, better known as al-Adil II) ( 1221 – 9 February 1248) was the Ayyubid Sultan of Egypt from 1238 to 1240. When his father al-Kamil, nephew of Saladin, died in 1238, al ...

. The battle that is commemorated was not a major one, but in the history of later

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

it was significant.

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

historian

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 ...

mentions that the battle occurred on November 13, 1239 and ended in an Egyptian (Ayyubid) victory. Crusader reports confirm al-Maqrizi's claim that Henry the Count of Bar, together with a thousand of his men, were killed in the hostilities. Further recorded is that 600 were taken prisoner, with most killed by their captors on the way to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. On November 3, 2006, Palestinian militants holed up inside the mosque exchanged gunfire with

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

i forces. This was part of the larger

2006 Gaza–Israel conflict The 2006 Gaza–Israel conflict, known in Israel as Operation Summer Rains (), was a series of battles between Palestinian militants and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during summer 2006, prompted by the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shal ...

. The mosque was heavily damaged by the fighting. Many local women marched to protect the mosque and help the Palestinian militants escape, but were shot at by Israeli forces. This resulted in the deaths of two of the women and several of the militants. The damage to the mosque was condemned by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

RWA.

Israeli destruction of the mosque

During the Israel–Hamas war, in November 2023 Israel launched an intense bombing campaign of the Gaza Strip which left many of the mosques in the Gaza Strip destroyed. The destruction of the Umm al-Nasr Mosque was confirmed in news reports in January 2024. Israeli claims of Hamas being located inside the mosque were not been supported with evidence, nor did any investigation deduced that the mosque was being used by the Palestinian forces in the Gaza Strip. The mosque's destruction led to widespread accusations of Israel intentionally destroying the cultural heritage of Palestine.

Architecture

The original mosque consisted of one large room, with a simple dome, built from crude and worn-out stones.Sharon, 1999, p
98
/ref> , nothing of the original mosque was left apart from the southern

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

with its roof—which consists of fan vaults and shallow dome in the center. The prayer hall ended with a room to the east roofed with a dome supported on spherical triangles. The foundation plate was inscribed in Ayyubid nashki script.

History

Israeli destruction of the mosque

Architecture

See also

References

Further reading