_celebrations_at_Mejdal_(Wady_Nemill_and_Sey%2527d_Hussein_Shrine_at_Ascalon)_and_at_Gaza_(el_Muntar)_April_20th%2c_21st_and_22nd_1943._The_Shrine_of_Seyid_Hussein_from_S.E._LOC_matpc.21688_(cropped).jpg)
TheShrine of Husayn's Head (Arabic:مشْهد ٱلحُسَين,romanized: Mašhad al-Ḥusayn,lit. 'Mausoleum of Husayn') was a shrine built by theFatimids on a hilltop adjacent toAscalon that was reputed to have held the head ofHusayn ibn Ali between c. 906 CE and 1153 CE.[1] It was described as the most magnificent building in the ancient city,[2][3] and developed into the most important andholiest Shi'a site in Palestine.[4]
In modern times, it became associated with the Palestinian town ofAl-Jura, which sat alongside the ruined citadel of Ascalon.[5] The shrine was destroyed in 1950 by the Israeli army, more than a year afterhostilities ended, on the orders ofMoshe Dayan. This was in accordance with a 1950s Israeli policy of erasing Muslim historical sites within Israel,[6] and in line with efforts to expel the remainingPalestinian Arabs from the region.[1]
The shrine was a large multi-story structure built up on three sides around a central courtyard. A prayer room (musalla) was on the south side. The former place of Husayn's head was marked by a pillar capped with a green turban over a red cloth.[7]
.jpg)
Theminbar (an Islamicpulpit), today in theIbrahimi Mosque inHebron, is considered a significant piece ofIslamic art and one of the most significant historic minbars in the medieval Muslim world.[8][9] It is also the oldest surviving minbar in this style of woodwork withgeometric decoration; a style also seen in the design of the laterMinbar of the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem (which was also a gift from Salah ad-Din).[9] The inscriptions record the construction of the minbar and of the shrine itself by Badr al-Jamali on behalf of the Fatimid caliph.[10]
According toFatimid tradition, the head of Husayn had been secretly moved by theAbbasids from its original burial site at theGreat Mosque of Damascus. In the year 985, the 15th Fatimid Caliph,Abu Mansoor Nizar al-Aziz Billah, traced the site of his great-grandfather's head through the office of a contemporary inBaghdad.[11]
It was "rediscovered" in 1091, a couple of years after a campaign bygrand vizierBadr al-Jamali to reestablish Fatimid control overPalestine under Caliphal-Mustansir Billah.[12]
Upon the discovery, he ordered the construction of a newFriday mosque andmashhad (memorial shrine) on the site. A magnificent minbar was also built, today in Hebron and known as theMinbar of the Ibrahimi Mosque.[9][10][13][14]
The mausoleum was described byMohammed al-Abdari al-Hihi as the most magnificent building in Ashkelon.[2]
Following the defeat at theSiege of Ascalon, the Majidi-monarch,Al-Zafir, ordered Ashkelon's ruler Sayf al-Mamlaka Tamim to transfer the head to Cairo.[15]
Husayn's casket was unearthed and moved from the shrine to Cairo on Sunday 8Jumada al-Thani, 548 (31 August 1153); theAl-Hussein Mosque was built to house the relic in 1154.[15]Yemeni writer Syedi Hasan bin Asad described the transfer of the head thus in hisRisalah manuscript: "When the Raas [head of] al Imam al Husain was taken out of the casket, in Ashkelon, drops of the fresh blood were visible on the Raas al Imam al Husain and the fragrance of Musk spread all over."[16][17]
.jpg)
In 1187Salah ad-Din (Saladin) succeeded inrecapturingJerusalem fromCrusaders and securing Muslim (Ayyubid) control over most of the region. However, he judged that Ashkelon was too vulnerable to a Crusader counterattack and he worried about its potential use as an enemybridgehead against the newly recaptured Jerusalem. He therefore decided to demolish the city in 1191 but transferred the Fatimid minbar of al-Husayn's now-empty mashhad to theIbrahimi Mosque in Hebron, which was also a holy site and was situated at a safer distance from the Crusader threat.[18] The minbar has remained there until the present day.[19]
During theBritish Mandate period it was described as a "largemaqam on top of a hill" with no tomb but a fragment of a pillar showing the place where the head had been buried.[20]
_celebrations_at_Mejdal_(Wady_Nemill_and_Sey%2527d_Hussein_Shrine_at_Ascalon)_and_at_Gaza_(el_Muntar)_April_20th%2c_21st_and_22nd_1943_LOC_matpc.21707.jpg)
_celebrations_at_Mejdal_(Wady_Nemill_and_Sey%2527d_Hussein_Shrine_at_Ascalon)_and_at_Gaza_(el_Muntar)_April_20th%2c_21st_and_22nd_1943._The_procession_in_open_courtyard_of_LOC_matpc.21686.jpg)
In July 1950, the shrine was destroyed at the instructions ofMoshe Dayan in accordance with a 1950s Israeli policy of erasing Muslim historical sites within Israel in order to assist the eviction of remaining Palestinians.[21][16][22] The site is now contained within the grounds of theBarzilai Medical Center.[23]
.jpg)
.jpg)
The area was razed and subsequently redeveloped for a local Israeli hospital,Barzilai.[24]
After the site was re-identified on the hospital grounds, funds fromMohammed Burhanuddin, the 52ndDa'i al-Mutlaq of theDawoodi Bohras, aShi'aIsmaili sect of predominantlyGujarati descent based in India, were used to construct a marble prayer platform.[24]
Dawoodi Bohra pilgrims from India and Pakistan continue to visit Ashkelon despite resultingcomplications in travelling to other Muslim nations.[22][25][26]
Historically the shrine was also a site of pilgrimage for Palestinian Sunnis.[17][27]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link) andIslamic Collections, 29 January 200931°39′38″N34°33′33″E / 31.6605°N 34.5593°E /31.6605; 34.5593