View source for Mosque of Omar (Jerusalem)

{{Short description|Mosque in the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2025}}
{{Distinguish|Dome of the Rock|Mosque of Omar (Bethlehem)}}
{{Infobox religious building
| building_name         = Mosque of Omar
| native_name=
| native_name_lang=
| image                 = Umar Mosque,Jerusalem123.jpg
| image_upright         = 1.4
| alt=
| caption               = Minaret of the Mosque next to the courtyard of the [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre]]
| map_type              = Old Jerusalem
| map_size              = 250
| map_relief            = 1
| map_caption           = Location of the mosque in the [[Old City of Jerusalem|Old City]] of [[Jerusalem]]
| mapframe = yes
| location              = [[Christian Quarter]], [[Old City of Jerusalem|Old City]], [[Jerusalem]]
| coordinates           = {{Coord|31|46|40|N|35|13|47|E|type:landmark_region:IL|display=title,inline}}
| religious_affiliation = [[Islam]]
| tradition             = [[Sunni]]
| rite                  =
| consecration_year     =
| status                = [[Mosque]]
| functional_status     = Active
| heritage_designation  =
| leadership            =
| architect             =
| architecture_type     = [[Mosque]]
| architecture_style    = {{ubl|[[Ayyubid dynasty|Ayyubid]]|[[Mamluk architecture|Mamluk]]}}
| founded_by            = [[Al-Afdal ibn Salah ad-Din]]
| funded_by             =
| facade_direction      =
| year_completed        = {{ubl|1193 [[Common Era|CE]]|{{circa|1450s}} {{small|(minaret)}}}}
| capacity              =
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| height_max=
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| minaret_quantity      = One
| minaret_height        = {{cvt|15|m}}
| materials=
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}}
The '''Mosque of Omar''' ({{langx|ar|مسجد عمر بن الخطاب}}) is a [[mosque]], located inside the [[Old City (Jerusalem)|Old City]] of [[Jerusalem]]. Situated opposite the southern courtyard of the [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre]], in the [[Muristan]] area of the [[Christian Quarter]], the mosque is not open to tourists, and can be accessed only for praying.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Mosque of Omar |date= |url=https://www.itraveljerusalem.com/ent/mosque-of-omar/ |access-date=2022-06-18 |website=iTravelJerusalem |language=en-US}}</ref> The mosque was completed during the [[Ayyubid dynasty|Ayyubid]] era.

==History==
According to local tradition, after the [[Siege of Jerusalem (636–637)|Siege of Jerusalem]] in 637 by the [[Rashidun army]] under the command of [[Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah]], Patriarch [[Sophronius of Jerusalem|Sophronius]] refused to surrender except to the Caliph [[Umar|Omar]] (579-644) himself. Omar travelled to Jerusalem and accepted the surrender. He then approached the [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre]] and Patriarch Sophronius invited the Caliph to pray inside the church, but Omar declined so as not to set a precedent and thereby endanger the church's status as a Christian site. Instead he prayed outside, on the steps east of the church.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=Krueger>{{cite book |last1= Krüger |first1= Jürgen |title= Die Grabeskirche zu Jerusalem: Geschichte, Gestalt, Bedeutung |trans-title= The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem: History, Form, Importance |date= 2000 |pages= 72–73 |publisher= Schnell und Steiner |place= Regensburg |language= de |isbn= 3-7954-1273-0 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=_G7qAAAAMAAJ&q=Inschriftentafel |access-date= 29 May 2018}}</ref> The Mosque of Omar was later built at that site, as evidenced by a stone plate with a [[Kufic]] inscription found in 1897 in the area of the eastern or outer atrium of the [[Constantine the Great|Constantinian]] (4th-century) Church of the Holy Sepulchre, defining this area as a mosque.<ref name=Krueger/>

The current structure was built in its current shape by the Ayyubid Sultan [[Al-Afdal ibn Salah ad-Din]] in 1193 to commemorate the prayer of the caliph Omar.<ref name=Murphy>{{cite book |last=Murphy-O'Connor |first=Jerome |author-link=Jerome Murphy-O'Connor |title=Two Mosques {{!}} The Holy Land: An Oxford Archaeological Guide from Earliest Times to 1700 |pages=62–63 |year=2008 |series=Oxford Archaeological Guides |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-923666-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m3Yy9FDcT8gC&q=1458&pg=PA52 |access-date=20 June 2016}}</ref>

== Architecture ==
The current structure was built in its current shape by the Ayyubid Sultan [[Al-Afdal ibn Salah ad-Din]] in 1193 to commemorate the prayer of the caliph Omar.<ref name="Murphy" /> The entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre had by then moved from the east to the south of the church, as a result of repeated destructive events that affected the Holy Sepulchre and Muslim mosques during the 11th and 12th centuries.<ref name="Krueger" />

The current mosque building has a {{convert|15|m|ft|adj=mid|-high}} [[minaret]] that was built sometime before 1465 during the [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk period]], maybe after the 1458 earthquake,<ref name="Murphy" /> and was renovated by Ottoman sultan [[Abdulmecid I]] (r. 1839–1860).<ref>{{cite book |last= Adamec |first= Ludwig W. |title= Historical Dictionary of Islam |page= 294 |year= 2017 |publisher= Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |isbn= 978-1442277236 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=zHCIDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA294 |access-date=2 March 2021}}</ref>

The [[Al-Khanqah al-Salahiyya Mosque]], located on the other (northern) side of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, has an almost identical minaret, erected in 1418.<ref name="Theol">[http://www.theologische-links.de/downloads/israel/jerusalem_el-khanqah-moschee.html El Khanqah-Moschee in Jerusalem] (German text and pictures at theologische-links.de)</ref><ref name="Murphy" />

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Modern jerusalem 1915.jpg|In this 1915 map, the Mosque appears south of the Holy Sepulchre in [[Muristan]], near the vertical middle of the map.
File:Mosque of Omar in Jerusalem.jpg|The Mosque has been reserved for religious activities
File:Mosque of Omar, Jerusalem1.jpg|Minaret
File:واجهة مسجد عمر بن الخطاب في القدس.jpg
File:باب مسجد عمر بن الخطاب في القدس.jpg
File:Jerusalem Batch 1 (946).jpg
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Busse, Heribert, ''Die 'Umar-Moschee im östlichen Atrium der Grabeskirche'' (lit. "The Mosque of 'Umar in the eastern atrium of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre"), Zeitschrift des deutschen Palästina-Vereins, 109 (1993), pp.&nbsp;73–82.

== External links ==
{{commons category-inline|Mosque of Omar (Jerusalem)}}

{{Old City (Jerusalem)}}
{{Mosques in Israel}}
{{Mosques in Palestine}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Omar, Jerusalem}}
[[Category:1190s establishments in the Ayyubid Sultanate]]
[[Category:12th-century mosques in Asia]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1193]]
[[Category:Christian Quarter]]
[[Category:Mamluk mosques in Israel]]
[[Category:Mamluk mosques in Palestine]]
[[Category:Mosque buildings with minarets in Israel]]
[[Category:Mosques completed in the 1190s]]
[[Category:Mosques in Jerusalem]]