Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron (al-Khalil)
A door at the end of the steps brings visitors into the Al-Jawali Mosque which was built in the 14th century. This mosque was extended to the Ibrahimi Mosque to make way for more worshippers. Both mosques are attached to each other by a passageway. Inside the Ibrahimi Mosque, a dome like structure has a cave underneath it and inside the cave three prophets and their wives are buried.
History
A very solid structure was built here by Herod the Great in the 1st century BC. The very first mosque was built here in the 7th century but the Crusaders turned this mosque into a church in the 12th century. At the end of the 12th century, Saladin built a mosque here and towers were added to the mosque in the same century.
Israel took control of this site after the 1967 War. The Israeli authorities have placed restrictions on calling the faithful to prayer by the muezzin of the Ibrahimi mosque.
It is believed that three minbars were constructed for Saladin, one for al-Aqsa Mosque, second for al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo and third one is here. This is the only surviving minbar of Saladin in Palestine because the one in al-Aqsa Mosque was burnt by Denis Michael Rohan in 1969.
In the 14th century Sanjar al-Jawli added the al-Jawli Mosque next to the current mosque. The Ottomans renovated the whole complex in the 19th century to give its current look.
Ibrahimi Mosque Massacre
On February 25, 1994, Baruch Goldstein opened fire in this mosque and killed 29 Muslim worshippers and 125 wounded. The attacker was overpowered by the survivors and then beaten to death. After the massacre, the Palestinians protested against the atrocity and further 20 or 25 people were killed.
