Al-Khanqah al-Salahiyya Mosque


The al-Khanqah al-Salahiyya Mosque is located in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, north of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

History

The mosque is situated on the former palace of the Latin Patriarch. Following the Crusader surrender of Jerusalem to Salah ad-Din in 1187, it became a mosque. Its minaret was built in 1417.

The two mosques flanking the Holy Sepulchre

The Mosque of Omar, located on the other side of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, has an almost identical minaret. The two minarets were obviously designed as a pair; a line connecting the two minarets would intersect the door of the Tomb of Jesus inside the church, and the minarets are equidistant to that door with their tops at exactly the same elevation despite starting at different ground levels. Murphy-O'Connor suggests that the Mamluk rulers may have had the intention "to 'nullify' the Holy Sepulchre", since in Islam the belief is of Allah physically raising Jesus into heaven, while it does not support the notion of his crucifixion and death.

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