Katib al-Wilaya Mosque

Template:Short description Template:Wikidata image Katib al-Wilaya Mosque or Welayat Mosque (Template:Langx) was a small historic mosque located along Omar Mukhtar Street in Gaza City, Palestine in the Zaytun Quarter of the Old City. The mosque was built by the Burji Mamluks in 1432, however, the structure could date further back to 1344. 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 name of the mosque Katib al-Wilaya ("the clerk of the state").

The mosque was damaged as part of the Bombing of the Gaza Strip, as result of the Israeli airstrike at the nearby Church of Saint Porphyrius.

Architecture

The main body of the mosque was its prayer hall, which was rectangular in shape and dates to the Mamluk period. The entrance was located at the qibla (indicator of direction towards Mecca) wall.

Minaret

The minaret of the mosque, rising above the mosque's eastern wall, was adjacent to the bell tower of the St. Porphyrius Church. Palestinian historian Aref al-Aref says local legend attributes this positioning of the building to the Rashidun caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab's orders 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 claims the mosque had earlier been a monastery known as Deir Salm al-Fada'il. Both of these accounts lack any verifiable basis other than local folklore.

In 1432, the minaret was restored by Sayf ad-Din Inal, the Burji mamluk who later became sultan in 1453.

History

2023 Israeli bombing of the mosque

During the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, the Israeli Air Force bombed the mosque on 17 October 2023, which led to the mosque sustaining damage. The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor accused Israel of “intentionally destroying” historical and cultural monuments in Gaza. The organization demanded an international investigation into Israel's destruction of Palestinian cultural heritage.