The Groaning of Minarets: Attacks on Mosques and Holy Sites in Palestine

Part of the Red Mosque of Baybars was converted into a campaign headquarters for the Kadima party. Many mosques were turned into horse stables, nightclubs, and museums.

Among the most heinous crimes committed since the dawn of history, God has deemed attacking mosques, desecrating them, and preventing the establishment of prayer within them as the gravest form of injustice; God Almighty says:

(Who could be more wicked than those who prohibit the mention of God’s name in His places of worship and strive to have them deserted? Such people should not enter them without fear: there is disgrace for them in this world and painful punishment in the Hereafter.) (Al-Baqarah: 114)

The enemies of Islam have devised various forms of aggression against the mosques of Palestine—a campaign that proceeds according to a calculated and systematic plan aimed at achieving specific objectives, rather than being isolated individual acts as they claim. Palestinian mosques have become a daily target of Zionist assaults, of which a prominent recent example was the aggression perpetrated by the Israeli Kadima Party against the Red Mosque of Baybars in the city of Safed. The party converted a section of the mosque into an electoral campaign headquarters, displaying inside it a banner for the 'Kadima' party along with campaign posters bearing images of Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert. Meanwhile, the main prayer hall of the mosque was used as a nightclub and a venue for decadent parties. This site is one of Palestine’s historic mosques, built by Sultan al-Zahir Baybars in 674 AH / 1275 CE.¹

The Demolition of 1,200 Mosques:

Al-Aqsa Mosque has borne the greatest share of these assaults, which, up to the time of writing, have exceeded more than 115 attacks. This was accompanied by the campaign waged against the rest of Palestine’s mosques through all barbaric and vile means—manifested in desecrating mosques and demolishing them for the benefit of settlers. Since the onset of the aggression in 1948, the occupation authorities have demolished more than 1,200 mosques within the Palestinian interior alone, thereby completing the cycle of Jewish transgressions against religions, from the slaying of prophets to the distortion of divine scriptures.

Israeli attacks on mosques are concentrated in the cities of Gaza, Hebron, and Khan Yunis to achieve several objectives—most notably because these mosques serve as springboards for the Islamic movement and the Intifada against the Jews. Furthermore, the occupation authorities dismiss mosque imams who sympathize with the Islamic movement; they dismissed Sheikh Ahmad Muhammad Ibrahim (30 years old), the imam and preacher of the Omar Ibn al-Khattab Mosque in the Palestinian village of Kabul, and also dismissed Sheikh Fathi Zaydan from the village of Kafr Manda under the same charge: sympathizing with the Islamic movement.

The second objective is the alteration of Islamic landmarks in pursuit of the complete Judaization of Palestinian cities. Sheikh Kamel Rayyan, head of the Al-Aqsa Association for the Care of Waqf, stated that the Israeli authorities have destroyed numerous mosques and bulldozed many cemeteries to achieve this end. In an exclusive statement to the 'Quds Press' agency, Sheikh Rayyan added that within Israeli cities, numerous centuries-old mosques have been barred to Muslim worshippers, shuttered, and converted into offices, factories, bars, dens of vice and corruption, cafes, and museums. Examples include the Al-Lababidi Mosque in Acre, the Al-Majdal Mosque in Ashkelon, and the Ein Karem Mosque in West Jerusalem, alongside numerous graves and shrines that were transformed into Jewish tombs. He remarked: 'Our revered figures have been turned into Jews even in death.

Mosques Converted to Other Purposes:

The Al-Aqsa Association for the Care of Islamic Endowments (Waqf) within the Palestinian territories occupied in 1948 issued a list of some of the mosques and shrines that have been diverted from their original functions, as follows:

Mosques Diverted from Their Natural Functions:

1. Al-Bassa Mosque – Acre Subdistrict – (Shlomi): Sheep pen.

2. Al-Zayt Mosque – Acre Subdistrict – (Akhziv): Agricultural equipment storage for Akhziv National Park.

3. Ein al-Zaytoun Mosque – Safed Subdistrict: Cattle pen (cowshed).

4. The Red Mosque – Safed: Converted into an artists' center (gallery / artists' colony).

5. Al-Souq Mosque – Safed: Converted into an exhibition hall for statues and paintings.

6. Al-Qal'a Mosque (Citadel Mosque) – Safed: Converted into municipal offices for the Municipality of Safed.

7. Al-Khalisa Mosque – (Kiryat Shmona): Converted into a municipal museum.

8. Al-Dar al-Bayda Mosque – West of Nein – West of the gas station: Converted into offices.

9. Al-Burj Mosque – Acre: Converted into university student affairs offices.

10. Ein Hawd Mosque – Haifa Subdistrict: Converted into a restaurant and bar.

11. The Old Mosque in Caesarea – Haifa Coast: Converted into an office for the development company's engineers.

12. The New Mosque in Caesarea – Haifa Coast: Converted into a restaurant and bar.

13. Al-Hamma Mosque – Golan Heights: Closed and used as a storage facility for the adjacent restaurant, storing alcoholic beverages and restaurant equipment.

14. Al-Siksik Mosque – Jaffa: The ground floor has been converted into a plastics factory, while the upper floor has been turned into a gambling café.

15. Al-Tabiya Mosque: Closed and used as a private residence by a local Christian resident.

16. Majdal Ashkelon Mosque: Converted into a museum, with part of it repurposed into a bar.

17. Al-Maliha Mosque – Jerusalem: A Jewish resident seized part of it to expand his house, and the roof of the mosque is used by neighbors to host late-night parties.

18. The Great Mosque – Beersheba: Neglected, and was previously converted into a museum.

19. The Small Mosque – Beersheba: Converted into a shop for a Jewish merchant.

Mosques and Shrines Converted into Jewish Synagogues and Temples:

1. Maqam Ya'qub Mosque (Shrine of Jacob) – Safed: Converted into a Jewish synagogue.

2. Maqam Yaquq – Tiberias Subdistrict: Converted into a Jewish tomb under the name of Habakkuk.

3. Maqam al-Sitt Sukayna in Tiberias: Converted into a Jewish tomb under the name of Rachel.

4. Maqam of Sheikh Daniel – Danna, Baysan Subdistrict: Converted into a Jewish tomb under the name of Dan.

5. Afula Mosque: Converted into a Jewish synagogue.

6. Kufrita Mosque – (Kfar Ata): Converted into a Jewish synagogue.

7. Tirat al-Karmel Mosque – Haifa Subdistrict: Converted into a Jewish synagogue.

8. Maqam of Sheikh Shihada: Frequented by religious Jews with the aim of converting it into a Jewish tomb under the name of "Tzion ben Gideon"; several violations have occurred at the site.

9. Maqam Sam'an – Qalqilya: Converted into a Jewish tomb under the name of Shimon.

10. Maqam of the Prophet Yamin – Qalqilya: Converted into a Jewish tomb under the name of Benjamin.

11. Maqam Ali – Yazur: Converted into a Jewish synagogue.

12. Maqam of Abu Huraira in Yibna – Ramle Subdistrict: Converted into a Jewish tomb under the name of Rabbi Gamliel.

13. Nabi Rubin Mosque – South of Jaffa: Converted into a Jewish tomb under the name of "Reuven".

14. Maqam of Sheikh al-Gharbawi – West of and adjacent to the village of al-Midyah (Modi'in): Converted into a Jewish tomb under the name of Mattathias.

15. Wadi Hunayn Mosque – Ramle Subdistrict (Ness Ziona): Converted into a Jewish synagogue under the name of "Geulat Yisrael".

Mosques Closed, Neglected, and Demolished:

1. Umm al-Faraj Mosque – Acre Subdistrict (Ben Ami): Demolished on December 4, 1997.

2. Wadi al-Hawarith Mosque – Tulkarm Subdistrict (near Hadera): Demolished by Jewish individuals on February 3, 2000.

3. Sheikh Ni'ma Mosque – Safed: The mosque was demolished; only the minaret remains.

4. Maqam al-Khidr – Al-Bassa (Shlomi): Neglected (abandoned).

5. The Zaydani Mosque in Tiberias: Shuttered and neglected.

6. Al-Bahr Mosque (Sea Mosque) in Tiberias: Shuttered and neglected. The Municipality of Tiberias renovated it with the intent of converting it into a museum. On February 6, 2000, a Jewish individual set fire to it; subsequently, on February 24, 2000, the municipality closed it and barred Muslims from approaching it.

7. Hittin Mosque – Tiberias Subdistrict (Kfar Zeitim): Closed multiple times by the Israel Land Authority.

8. Amqa Mosque – Amqa settlement: Closed, neglected, and in danger of collapse.

9. Maqam of Sheikh Muhammad Kuwaykat – Beit HaEmek: Neglected (abandoned).