Al-Khadra Mosque
| Al-Khadra Mosque | |
|---|---|
The minaret of the mosque, 2015
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| Basic information | |
| Location |
 Nablus
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| Geographic coordinates | 32°12′44.48″N 35°16′15.20″E / 32.2123556°N 35.2708889°ECoordinates: 32°12′44.48″N 35°16′15.20″E / 32.2123556°N 35.2708889°E |
| Affiliation | Islam |
| District | Nablus Governorate |
| Province | West Bank |
| Status | Active |
| Leadership | Maher Kharaz (imam) |
| Architectural description | |
| Architectural style | Mamluk |
| Completed | 1288-90 |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 18.6 meters (61 ft) |
| Width | 7.2 meters (24 ft) |
| Minaret(s) | 1 |
| Minaret height | 30 meters (98 ft) |
Al-Khadra Mosque (Arabic: مسجد الخضرة, transliteration: Masjid al-Khadra, translation: "the Green Mosque") also known as Hizn Sidna Yaq'ub Mosque (trans. Sadness of our Lord Jacob) is a mosque situated on the lower slopes of Mount Gerizim in the southwestern quarter of the Old City of Nablus in the West Bank. The mosque is rectangular in shape, and its minaret rises 30 meters (98 ft).
According to Muslim tradition, the mosque is situated upon the site where Jacob wept after being shown Joseph's blood-soaked tunic which suggested that he had been mauled and killed; on the right of the courtyard is a small room said to be the place where Jacob sat down and wept. Hence the mosque's alternative name "Sadness of our Lord Jacob". According to Samaritan tradition, al-Khadra Mosque had been a synagogue destroyed by the Crusaders. They claim that its Arabic name al-Khadra ("the Green") derived from the Samaritan Mahallat Khadra ("the place of the Green"). Archaeologist Micheal Avi-Yonah identified the Khadra Mosque with the synagogue built by the Samaritan high priest Akbon in 362 CE.
The synagogue was rebuilt in 1137 by Ab Giluga, a Samaritan from Acre. Several Western scholars, however, believe, because of examples of Gothic architecture in portions of the present-day mosque, that in the 1170s, there stood a Crusader church and bell tower.Arab geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi records in 1225, while Nablus was under Ayyubid rule, the buildings was restored to become a Samaritan synagogue, which he referred to as "a large mosque" which the Samaritans venerated. It is probably from this era that the Samaritan inscriptions on a minaret wall were made.
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Wikipedia