THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE AND MUSJID UMAR
THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE AND MUSJID UMAR
- While Muslims believe that Isa AS is alive and will return towards the end of time, Christians believe that he was crucified. The exact spot where they believe this transpired is where the Church of the Holy Sepulchre stands today. It is therefore regarded as the holiest place for them.
- The actual church is owned by six different Christian denominations and has been the site of violent skirmishes amongst themselves over the past millennium which continues till today. The church, which is visited by about four million people annually, has a history which is as complicated as are the traditions and rituals that maintain its often-precarious peace.
- In an attempt to create some sort of peace amongst the groups, Salah al-Din RA came up with an ingenious solution. He wrote to Richard the Lionhearted in 1191 CE, and outlined his plan to invite a prominent Muslim family, the Nuseibehs to become the custodians of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which was accepted.
- Today, the Muslim Joudeh family is the keeper of the twelve-inch iron key that opens the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Each morning, a representative of the Joudeh family brings the key to the church, where he surrenders it to a representative of the Nuseibeh family. In a 1000-year tradition, handed down from father to son, the Nuseibehs then use the key to open the church with the help of the monks and priests inside, who have spent the night in prayer. A similar ritual takes place to lock the church again at night, and the key is returned to the Joudehs. This unbroken tradition has endured through the tumultuous break-up of the Ottoman Empire, the devastation of World War I, the British Mandate, and today is overseen and protected by the Israeli police force.
- When Umar RA liberated the city, he was brought to this church and as it was the time of Asr Prayer, was told to pray in the church. He refused on the basis that Muslims after him would convert the church into a Musjid if he prayed there.
- He went outside and performed his prayer there. That area was converted into a Musjid which is known as Musjid Umar.
- The current Musjid doesn’t date back to his time but was constructed in 1193 CE by Al-Afdal ibn Salah ad-Din. The Musjid was later renovated by the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Mecid I in the 19th century. It has a beautiful entrance door which leads to a small courtyard.
