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Conversion of non-Islamic places of worship into mosques

The conversion of non-Islamic places of worship into mosques occurred after the life of Muhammad during subsequent and under historical Muslim rule. Hindu temples, Jain temples, churches, synagogues, and Zoroastrian fire temples have been converted into mosques.

Several such mosques in the areas of former Muslim rule have since been reconverted or have become museums, including the Parthenon in Greece and numerous mosques in Spain, such as Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba. Conversion of non-Islamic buildings into mosques influenced distinctive regional styles of Islamic architecture.

Islamic holy sites

Jerusalem

Upon the capture of Jerusalem, it is commonly reported that Umar refused to pray in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in spite of a treaty. The architecturally similar Dome of the Rock was built on the Temple Mount, which was a destroyed site of the holiest Jewish temple, destroyed by the Romans in AD 70 and with consistent Jewish presence in Jerusalem has always been a site of religious prayer for Jews. Umar initially built there a small prayer house which laid the foundation for the later construction of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by the Umayyads.

Conversion of church buildings

Europe

Albania

Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Fethija Mosque (since 1592) of Bihać was a Catholic church devoted to Saint Anthony of Padua (1266).

Cyprus

Following the Ottoman conquest of Cyprus, a number of churches (especially the Catholic ones) were converted into mosques. A relatively significant surge in church-to-mosque conversion followed the 1974 Turkish Invasion of Cyprus. Many of the Orthodox churches in Northern Cyprus have been converted, and many are still in the process of becoming mosques.

Greece

Numerous orthodox churches were converted to mosques during the Ottoman period in Greece. After the Greek War of Independence, many of them were later reconverted into churches. Among them:

Hungary

Following the Ottoman conquest of the Kingdom of Hungary, a number of churches were converted into mosques. Those that survived the era of Ottoman rule, were later reconverted into churches after the Great Turkish War.

  • Church of Our Lady of Buda, converted into Eski Djami immediately after the capture of Buda in 1541, reconverted in 1686.
  • Church of Mary Magdalene, Buda, converted into Fethiye Djami c. 1602, reconverted in 1686.
  • The Franciscan Church of St John the Baptist in Buda, converted into Pasha Djami, destroyed in 1686.

Spain

A Catholic church dedicated to Saint Vincent of Lérins, was built by the Visigoths in Córdoba, although this has been a matter of scholarly debate. during the reign of Abd al-Rahman I the site was converted into a newly built mosque. In the time of the Reconquista, Christian rule was reestablished and the building became a church once again, the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption.

Crimean Peninsula

After the Ottomans conquered Mangup, the capital of Principality of Theodoro, a prayer for the Sultan recited in one of the churches which converted into a mosque, and according to Turkish authors "the house of the infidel became the house of Islam."

Middle East and North Africa

Iraq

The Islamic State converted a number of churches into mosques after they occupied Mosul in 2014. The churches were restored to their original function after Mosul was liberated in 2017.

Israel and Palestinian territories

The Herodian shrine of the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, the second most holy site in Judaism, was converted into a church during the Crusades before being turned into a mosque in 1266 and henceforth banned to Jews and Christians. Part of it was restored as a synagogue by Israel after 1967. Other sites in Hebron have undergone Islamification. The Tomb of Jesse and Ruth became the Church of the Forty Martyrs, which then became the Tomb of Isai and later Deir Al Arba'een.

Lebanon

Morocco

Syria

Turkey

Istanbul

Hagia Sophia

Following the Ottoman conquest of Anatolia, virtually all of the churches of Istanbul were converted into mosques except the Church of Saint Mary of the Mongols.

Other churches

Rest of Turkey

Elsewhere in Turkey numerous churches were converted into mosques, including:

Orthodox
Armenian Apostolic

Hundreds of Armenian Churches were converted into Mosques in Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Conversion of Hindu and Jain temples

Conversion of synagogues

North Africa

Algeria

Europe

France

  • Or Thora Synagogue of Marseille, built in the 1960s by Jews from Algeria, was turned into a mosque in 2016 after being bought by a conservative Muslim organization, the al-Badr organization.

The Netherlands

  • The Ashkenazi synagogue on Wagenstraat street of The Hague, built in 1844, became the Aqsa Mosque in 1981. The synagogue had been sold to the city by the Jewish community in 1976, on the grounds that it would not be converted into a church. In 1979 Turkish Muslim residents occupied the abandoned building and demanded it be turned into a mosque, citing alleged construction safety concerns with their usual mosque. The synagogue was conceded to the Muslim community three years later.

Influence on Islamic architecture

The conversion of non-Islamic religious buildings into mosques during the first centuries of Islam played a major role in the development of Islamic architectural styles. Distinct regional styles of mosque design, which have come to be known by such names as Arab, Persian, Andalusian, and others, commonly reflected the external and internal stylistic elements of churches and other temples characteristic for that region.

See also

References

External links