An-Nasr Mosque

This article is about the mosque in Nablus. For the mosque in the Beit Hanoun, see Umm al-Naser Mosque.

An-Nasr Mosque
An-Nasr Mosque next to the al-Manara clocktower
Basic information
Location	Nablus, West Bank, Palestinian territories
Affiliation	Islam
District	Old City
Architectural description
Architectural type	Mosque
Completed	1935
Specifications
Dome(s)	1
Minaret(s)	1

An-Nasr Mosque (Arabic: مسجد النصر‎ Masjid an-Nasr translated as "Victory Mosque"^[1]) is a mosque located in the Palestinian city of Nablus. It is situated in the central square of the Old City and is donned as the "symbol of Nablus".^[2] An-Nasr Mosque has a turquoise dome and its prayer room is located in the second floor of the building.^[1][2]

History

Originally, an-Nasr was a Byzantine church,^[3] and then the Templars constructed a small church which consisted of a circular building with a red dome during the Crusader rule of Palestine. The Crusaders lost Nablus in 1187 to the Ayyubids and by the 14th century Nablus was in Mamluk hands. The Mamluks transformed the Crusader church into the three-nave an-Nasr Mosque.^[4] The Ottomans built a government building adjacent to the mosque. An-Nasr was destroyed by an earthquake that struck Nablus in 1927.^[3]

The Supreme Muslim Council under Amin al-Husayni constructed the an-Nasr Mosque on the site with a completely different structural design in 1935.^[3] The reconstruction was supervised by Shaykh Amr Arafat, a resident of Nablus whose clan — the Fityanis — served as the mosque's waqf superintendents.^[5] The imam of the mosque is traditionally of the Hanafi fiqh.^[6] According to Islamic tradition, an-Nasr Mosque is built on the exact spot where Yaqub (Jacob) was brought the "bloody and tattered coat" of Yusuf (Joseph) by his sons.^[7]

In February 1998, violence in Nablus between Israeli soldiers and Palestinians that resulted in several Palestinian deaths occurred after Israeli soldiers squabbled with Palestinian worshipers at an-Nasr Mosque.^[8]

Interior view

See also

• Great Mosque of Nablus

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Bennet, James. In Nablus's Casbah, Israel tightens the Noose New York Times. 2002-04-08
2. ^ ^{a b} Semplici, Andrea and Boccia, Mario. - Nablus, At the Foot of the Holy Mountain Med Cooperation, p.17.
3. ^ ^{a b c} Salameh, Khader Ibrahim. (2001). The Qurʼān Manuscripts in the Al-Haram Al-Sharif Islamic Museum, Jerusalem Garnet & Ithaca Press, p.190. ISBN 1859641326.
4. ^ Neapolis - (Nablus) Studium Biblicum Fransicum - Jerusalem.
5. ^ Doumani, Beshara. (1995). Rediscovering Palestine, Merchants and Peasants in Jabal Nablus, 1700-1900 University of California Press.
6. ^ Yazbak, Mahmoud. (1997). Nabulsi Ulama in the Late Ottoman Period, 1864-1914 Cambridge University Press.
7. ^ Curtis, William E. (1903).To-day in Syria and Palestine F.H. Revell Company, p.315.
8. ^ Clines, Francis X.New Squabbling In Israel Widens 2 Leaders' Split New York Times. 1998-02-13.

Coordinates: 32°13′08″N 35°15′41″E / 32.2189°N 35.2614°E / 32.2189; 35.2614