1 . Islamic Museum with Fakhriyyah Minaret The Museum was established by the supreme Muslim Council in the 1341AH/1923CE. It was first located in the Ribat al-Mansuri which was built in 681AH/1282CE by al-Mansur Qalawun. In 1927 it was transferred to its present site in the southwest corner of the Noble Sanctuary. The museum contains exhibits from all periods of Islamic History, including an array of Arabic Kufic inscriptions, dating back to the early fourth centuary Hijra. Other important displays include an extensive Qur’an collection and Islamic ceramics, coins and glassware stand together with guns, swords and daggers in the oldest museum in Jerusalem. A unique group of architectural elements help document the history of al Masjidual Aqsa Haram Sharif. The museum also contains many rare manuscripts, including a collection of more than 600 copies of the Quran written between the third and twelfth centuries Hijrah. One of the most important pieces is the collection is a hand-written Quran whose transcription is attributed to the great, great grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. The entire 1,500 square meter roof and the 450 square meter building, formerly used as a Womens Mosque, has now been completely revitalized by the Technical Office of the Jerusalem Revitalization Program for the Old City (JRP), implemented through a grant of $175,000 from the Arab Fund to Welfare Association. The low-lying structure is actually a long two-aisled hall that has seen a variety of uses over the last millennium. Some time after Saladins ousting of the Crusaders and liberation of the city, the building was divided, the eastern half into a Womens Mosque and the western half into an assembly hall for the adjacent Madrasa of Fakhr al-Din Mohammad (todays Islamic Museum), built in the fourteenth century. The Crusader era building has not seen major repair in centuries, and minor repairs which have been carried out have had only cosmetic effects, leaving the interior leaking, and chronically damp and humid. The restoration process of the former mosque will allow the building to serve as the new facility for al-Aqsa Library, currently housed in the cramped quarters of al-Madrasa al-Ashrafiya, also within the Haram.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 10:46:57 +0000
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