The conversion of non-Islamic places of worship into mosques occurred during the life of Muhammad[citation needed] and continued during subsequent Islamic conquests and invasions and under historical Muslim rule.[citation needed] Hindu temples, Jain Temples, churches, synagogues, and Zoroastrian fire temples have been converted into mosques.
Several such mosques in the areas of former Muslim rule have since been reconverted or have become museums, including the Parthenon in Greece and numerous mosques in Spain, such as Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba. Conversion of non-Islamic buildings into mosques influenced distinctive regional styles of Islamic architecture.
Before Muhammad, the Kaaba and Mecca (referred to as Bakkah in the Quran), were revered as a sacred sanctuary and were sites of pilgrimage.[1] During Muhammad's lifetime (AD 570–632), his tribe, the Quraysh, was in charge of the Kaʿaba, at that time a shrine containing hundreds of idols representing Arabian tribal gods and other religious figures. Muhammad earned the enmity of his tribe by preaching the new religion of Islam. Early Muslims practiced, or attempted to practice, their rituals by the Ka'aba alongside polytheists, until they eventually left Mecca, driven out by escalating persecution. The aborted first pilgrimage, which was prevented by the Quraysh, who promised to allow it the following year in the Hudaybiyah treaty, did not also entail the prevention of continuing practices by polytheists. However, before the second pilgrimage season, allies of the Quraysh violated the treaty, allowing the Muslims to return as conquerors rather than guests. Henceforth, the Kaʿaba was to be dedicated to the worship of the one God alone, and the idols were destroyed. The Black Stone (al-Hajar-ul-Aswad) at the Kaʿaba was a special object of veneration at the site. According to some traditions the text of seven or ten especially honoured poems were suspended around the Kaʿaba.[2]
Upon the capture of Jerusalem, it is commonly reported that Umar refused to pray in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in spite of a treaty.[3][better source needed] The architecturally similar Dome of the Rock was built on the Temple Mount, which was an abandoned and disused area since AD 70 in the 7th century but which had previously been the site of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, the most sacred site in Judaism.[4] Umar initially built there a small prayer house which laid the foundation for the later construction of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by the Umayyads.[5]
The Fethija Mosque (since 1592) of Bihać was a Catholic church devoted to Saint Anthony of Padua (1266).[6]
Following the Ottoman conquest of Cyprus, a number of churches (especially the Catholic ones) were converted into mosques. A relatively significant surge in church-to-mosque conversion followed the 1974 Turkish Invasion of Cyprus. Many of the Orthodox churches in Northern Cyprus have been converted, and many are still in the process of becoming mosques[citation needed].
Numerous orthodox churches were converted to mosques during the Ottoman period in Greece. After the Greek War of Independence, many of them were later reconverted into churches. Among them:
Following the Ottoman conquest of the Kingdom of Hungary, a number of churches were converted into mosques. Those that survived the era of Ottoman rule, were later reconverted into churches after the Great Turkish War.
A Catholic church dedicated to Saint Vincent of Lérins, was built by the Visigoths in Córdoba; during the reign of Abd al-Rahman I, it was converted into a mosque.[7][8][9] In the time of the Reconquista, Christian rule was reestablished and the building became a church once again, the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption.[7][8][9]
After the Ottomans conquered Mangup, the capital of Principality of Theodoro, a prayer for the Sultan recited in one of the churches which converted into a mosque, and according to Turkish authors "the house of the infidel became the house of Islam."[10][better source needed]
The Islamic State converted a number of churches into mosques after they occupied Mosul in 2014. The churches were restored to their original function after Mosul was liberated in 2017.[11]
The Herodian shrine of the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, the second most holy site in Judaism,[15] was converted into a church during the Crusades before being turned into a mosque in 1266 and henceforth banned to Jews and Christians.[16] Part of it was restored as a synagogue by Israel after 1967.[17] Other sites in Hebron have undergone Islamification. The Tomb of Jesse and Ruth became the Church of the Forty Martyrs,[18] which then became the Tomb of Isai and later Deir Al Arba'een.[19]
Following the Ottoman conquest of Anatolia, virtually all of the churches of Istanbul were converted into mosques except the Church of Saint Mary of the Mongols.[23]
Elsewhere in Turkey numerous churches were converted into mosques, including:
Hundreds of Armenian Churches were converted into Mosques in Turkey and Azerbaijan[citation needed].
Temple Name | Mosque Name | Images | City | Country | Ruler | Notes | Current Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kashi Vishwanath Temple | Gyanvapi Mosque | ![]() |
Varanasi, UP | India | Aurangzeb | The temple was demolished under the orders of Aurangzeb, who then constructed the Gyanvapi Mosque atop the original Hindu temple. The demolition was motivated by the rebellion of local zamindars (landowners) associated with the temple.[32] The demolition was intended as a warning to the anti-Mughal factions and Hindu religious leaders in the city.[33] | Mosque; temple reconstructed adjacent to Mosque |
Keshavdeva Temple | Shahi Edgah | ![]() |
Mathura, UP | India | Aurangzeb attacked Mathura, destroyed the Keshavdeva Temple in 1670 and built the Shahi Eidgah in its place.[34][35] | Mosque; temple reconstructed adjacent to Mosque | |
Bindu Madhav Temple | Alamgir Mosque | ![]() |
Varanasi, U.P. | India | The Alamgir Mosque in Varanasi was constructed by Mughal Emperor Aurnagzeb built atop the ancient 100 ft high Bindu Madhav (Nand Madho) Temple after its destruction in 1682.[36] | Mosque | |
Somnath Temple | ![]() |
Veraval, Gujarat | India | Mahmud of Ghazni, Alauddin Khalji, Muzaffar Shah I, Mahmud Begada, Aurangzeb | The temple was attacked, destroyed and rebuilt multiple times and was converted into an Islamic Mosque in the 19th century.[37] | Temple rebuilt | |
Jain and Saraswati Temple | Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra | ![]() |
Ajmer, Rajasthan | India | Qutb ud-Din Aibak | The original building was partially destroyed and converted into a mosque by Qutb ud-Din Aibak of Delhi in the late 12th century.[38] Iltutmish further built the mosque in AD 1213.[39] | Mosque |
Rudra Mahalaya Temple | Jami Mosque | ![]() |
Siddhpur, Gujarat | India | Ahmad Shah I | The temple was dismantled during the siege of the city by Ahmed Shah I (1410–1444) of Muzaffarid dynasty; parts of it were reused in setting up a new congregational mosque.[40] | Ruined, partly converted into Mosque |
The conversion of non-Islamic religious buildings into mosques during the first centuries of Islam played a major role in the development of Islamic architectural styles. Distinct regional styles of mosque design, which have come to be known by such names as Arab, Persian, Andalusian, and others, commonly reflected the external and internal stylistic elements of churches and other temples characteristic for that region.[47]