The Great Omari Mosque in Gaza..the invaders were defeated and remained tall

Gaza -

Referring to a site he presented, the Palestinian octogenarian Muhammad Hussein Haniyeh said, "I hope that I will meet God while I am raising the call to prayer here in Al-Omari," where the call to prayer has been raised for nearly 4 decades in the "Great Omari Mosque", the second oldest and oldest mosque in Palestine after the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the third In terms of area after Al-Aqsa and the "Ahmed Pasha Al-Jazzar" mosque in the city of Acre, inside Palestine occupied in 1948.

Al-Omari Mosque is characterized by arches and domes in the Mamluk and Ottoman style (Al-Jazeera)

Haniyeh, born in 1939, is a Palestinian refugee who lived his early childhood years in the city of Jaffa before the Nakba in 1948. He wears a keffiyeh and a white beard on his face. However, age has not left its mark on his memory and his enjoyment of humor and humor.

The octogenarian muezzin Muhammad Haniyeh has been associated with the Al-Omari mosque for 4 decades and hopes to meet God while he raises the call to prayer (Al-Jazeera)

The oldest muezzins

The muezzin Haniyeh has an emotional relationship with the Omari Mosque, which is adjacent to his house in the heart of old Gaza, and accompanies him throughout the day, and he hardly leaves it - for something - until he quickly returns to his seat in it opposite the mihrab, and says that he began to raise the call to prayer voluntarily in a small mosque in the neighborhood of Al-Daraj , one of the oldest neighborhoods in Gaza City, before his long journey as the muezzin of the Omari Mosque.

Haniyeh, with his sweet voice, and his distinguished performance in the call to prayer, add an aura of beauty to this mosque, and says that he feels very proud when people describe him as "the muezzin of al-Omari", and that he is the oldest muezzin in the Gaza Strip.

Al-Omari Mosque has been subjected throughout history to bombing and destruction by invaders and occupiers (Al-Jazeera)

Haniyeh remembers the first time that a muezzin stood in the Omari Mosque, when he insisted to the extent of hope for the muezzin, "Abu al-Saeed, may God have mercy on him", and allowed him to call the call to prayer, and the matter was repeated after that, when he found him glorifying the provisions of the call to prayer and enjoying a beautiful voice, until he succeeded him permanently after his death .

Haniyeh sums up what he feels while raising the call to prayer, by saying, "I forget myself and the world."

emotional connection

Ali Al-Aseel, 87, has been a pioneer of the Al-Omari Mosque for 55 years. He tells Al-Jazeera Net that he is keen to perform the five daily prayers, and spends the most beautiful moments of his day between the sides of this mosque, praying and reading the Qur’an, and chatting with the few who remain of his generation alive. life.

Al-Omari Mosque has 5 doors overlooking historical alleys and streets in old Gaza (Al-Jazeera)

And about the muezzin Haniyeh, Al-Aseel says that he has become like one of the pillars of the ancient mosque, and an authentic corner of it, and on him the first looks of the mosque’s goers fall, with his usual appearance, his smile, and the corner that has been with him for decades.

He said that the atmosphere of the mosque increases in splendor during the days and nights of the blessed month of Ramadan, and the lucky ones find a place for him inside the mosque despite its vastness and large area.

The mosque leads 3,000 worshipers to perform the five daily prayers throughout the month of Ramadan, and the number rises to 5,000 on the night of the 27th of the month, which the people of Gaza used to perform with prayer and supplication as the “night of fate,” according to the estimates of the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs in Gaza.

Tariq Haniyeh: Despite the destruction of the Omari Mosque, it remained steadfast as one of Palestine's religious and historical landmarks (Al-Jazeera)

historical roots

In old Gaza, which is known today as “the country”, the “Great Omari Mosque” is located on an area of ​​4100 square meters, and it has 5 doors, leading to ancient streets and alleys, narrating the history of the civilizations that settled Gaza, and the invaders who passed by and were defeated, and Gaza remained solid and proud.

The area on which the Omari Mosque was built in the past was a pagan temple in the center of Gaza City, and it remained so until the Romans built on its ruins the “Porphyrios Church” after their occupation of the Levant in 407 AD, according to a detailed explanation provided by - to Al Jazeera Net - the mosque’s tour guide, Tariq Haniyeh, an employee of the Ministry of Awqaf.

Muhammad Haniyeh, born in 1939, is the oldest muezzin in Gaza (Al-Jazeera)

He adds: "This church remained in existence until the Islamic conquest of Gaza in 634 AD, led by the companion Amr ibn al-Aas during the era of the adult Caliph Omar ibn al-Khattab. At that time, the majority of Gazans converted to Islam, except for a few who remained on Christianity. An agreement was reached between the residents and they were "cousins." On the construction of a mosque on the largest area for the Muslim majority, and the construction of a church on a smaller area that still exists today and bears the same name “Porphyrios Church”.

But that mosque is not the same as it is in its current form, as Haniyeh explains that the Byzantine campaign in 1149 AD destroyed the mosque, and built a church on its ruins, 3 of whose ruins are still standing today, and Muslims did not destroy it, in order to preserve history, according to Haniyeh.

The Omari Mosque Library is one of the oldest libraries in the mosques of Palestine (Al-Jazeera)

An architectural masterpiece and a scientific beacon

The mosque was rebuilt again after the victory of Al-Nasir Salah Al-Din Al-Ayyubi and his return of Jerusalem and the land of Palestine to the bosom of the Islamic state in 1192 AD, and since that time the mosque has witnessed improvements, and corridors and doors were added to its construction and area during the Mamluk and Ottoman eras.

The description of the mosque came to the late historian Othman Mustafa al-Tabbaa, in which he says: “The Great Omari Mosque is located in the center of Gaza City, near its market, and it is the greatest, oldest, best, most powerful and perfect mosque. On a pillar upon a pillar on both sides.

Al-Omari Mosque underwent restoration in different eras due to what it was exposed to (Al-Jazeera)

Haniyeh says that the minaret of the mosque is one of its most famous features, and it is a model of the Mamluk architectural style, built in the form of a square in the lower half, and octagonal in the upper half, and stone was used in its construction from the base to the top, including the upper half consisting of 4 levels. The minaret is made mostly of wood and tiles, similar to most mosques in the Levant.

Al-Omari Mosque is historically a scientific beacon, intended by researchers of science, as it included a library full of thousands of books and manuscripts in various types of science and literature, and despite the theft and destruction it was subjected to during the Crusades, the French campaign, and the British bombing of the mosque in World War I, it does not. It still retains its value and remains one of the oldest libraries in the mosques of Palestine.