Katib al-Wilaya Mosque
The Katib al-Wilaya Mosque (Arabic: جامع الولايات, romanized: Masjid Kātib al Wilāyah, lit. 'Clerk of the State Mosque'), also known as the Welayat Mosque, is a small mosque located along Omar Mukhtar Street in Gaza City, in the State of Palestine in the Zaytun Quarter of the Old City. The mosque was built by the Burji Mamluks in 1432 CE,[1] however, the structure could have been completed in 1344 CE. Additions to the western part of the mosque were commissioned in 1584 by Ahmed Bey, the Ottoman clerk of the Damascus Vilayet (Province of Damascus). Damascus Vilayet's Arabic transliteration was Wilayat Dimashq, hence the mosque's nomenclature.[2][3] ArchitectureThe main body of the mosque is its prayer hall, which is rectangular in shape and dates from the Mamluk period. The entrance is located at the qibla (indicator of direction towards Mecca) wall.[4] MinaretThe mosque's minaret, rising above the eastern wall,[4] is situated adjacent to the bell tower of the St. Porphyrius Church. Aref al-Aref, a Palestinian historian, stated that local legend attributed this positioning of the building to the orders of Rashidun caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab, to the Muslim general Amr ibn al-'As, to build a mosque next to every church in the lands conquered by the Muslims. Another anecdote claimed that the mosque had been a monastery, known as Deir Salm al-Fada'il. These accounts have no verifiable basis, other than local folklore.[5] In 1432, the minaret was restored by Sayf ad-Din Inal, the Burji mamluk who later became sultan in 1453.[5] HistoryIn January 2024, Al Jazeera reported that the mosque was damaged as part of the airstrike on the adjacent Church of Saint Porphyrius by the Israeli Defense Force in its bombing of the Gaza Strip.[6] However, a 2025 report on Palestinian heritage sites affected by the war compiled by the Centre for Cultural Heritage Preservation described the mosque was "not damaged".[7] See alsoReferences
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