Sidna Ali Mosque

The mosque is situated around a tomb reputed to be that of a local saint, Ali b. Alim, who died in 1081 CE. Ali was described as a great scholar and miracle worker by Sultan Baybars' biographer, Muhyi al-Din (died 1292). According to Mujir al-Din, in {{circa|1496}}, the tomb was visited by Baybars in 1265 CE, who prayed for victory before retaking Arsuf from the crusaders.{{cite journal |author=Taragan, Hana |year=2004 |url=https://www.academia.edu/5542572/The_Tomb_of_Sayyidnā_Alī_in_Arūf_the_Story_of_a_Holy_Place |title=The Tomb of Sayyidna Ali in Arsuf: the Story of a Holy Place |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society |series=4 |volume=14 |number=2 |pages=83–102 |issn= |doi= |access-date= }} An annual festival was celebrated at the mosque from the 15th century until the 1940s.

The existing building contains parts of different ages of construction and repair; however, Petersen claimed that none date from before the 15th century,{{cite book |title=A Gazetteer of Buildings in Muslim Palestine (British Academy Monographs in Archaeology) |url=https://www.academia.edu/21539664|volume =I |first=Andrew|last=Petersen |year=2001| publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-727011-0 |pages=[https://www.academia.edu/21539664/Gazetteer_4_D-J 146-148]}} while Taragan identifies elements, specifically the entrance door to the minaret, which fit the style of other early Mamluk religious buildings from the 1270s-90s, noting that no written documents remain to support such an early date for the mosque.{{rp|97-98}} The part of the building described as the oldest in 1950 has since disappeared.

Taragan dates the construction of the vaulted arcades to sometime between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries, with important additions made in the late 15th century, including the well, a marble monument on the tomb, and an unidentified tower. The rooms on the second floor and the inscription now placed opposite the mihrab were added.{{rp|102}} The minaret was destroyed by naval bombardment in World War I and since rebuilt. Major repair work was done in 1926, the 1950s and 1991–1992.

Since 1990, notably, due to its central location in Israel, the shrine is again a popular target for pilgrimage for Israeli Arabs from the villages of the Galilee and townspeople from places like Jaffa and Ramla, coming on Fridays to pray at the tomb and participate in different ceremonies.{{rp|102}}

Sidna Ali Mosque in 1949.jpg|The mosque in 1949

لمحة عن ولي الله علي بن عليل.jpg|

{{stack|{{portal|Islam|Israel}}}}

• Islam in Israel
• List of mosques in Israel
• Maqam (shrine), a type of Muslim shrine widely known in the Levant

==References==

{{Reflist}}

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• {{cite web |last1=Barkan|first1=Diego |last2=Dayan|first2=Ayelet |date=2018-11-11 |url=http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/report_detail_eng.aspx?id=25476&mag_id=126 |title=Sidna 'Ali |publisher=Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel |number=130 |lang= }}
• {{cite journal |author=Ephrat, Daphna |year=2009 |title=The Shaykh, the Physical Setting and the Holy Site: the diffusion of the Qadiri path in late medieval Palestine |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society |series=3 |volume=19 |number=1 |pages= 1–20 |issn= |doi= |access-date= }}

{{refend}}

{{Commons category-inline}}

• Survey of Western Palestine, Map 10: [http://www.iaa-archives.org.il/zoom/zoom.aspx?folder_id=93&type_id=6&id=8372 IAA], [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Survey_of_Western_Palestine_1880.10.jpg Wikimedia commons]

{{Mosques in Israel}}

{{National parks of Israel}}

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Category:15th-century mosques in Israel

Category:Buildings and structures in Tel Aviv District

Category:Caravanserais in Israel

Category:Islamic shrines in Israel

Category:Mamluk mosques in Israel

Category:Mosque buildings with domes in Israel

Category:Mosque buildings with minarets in Israel

Category:Mosques in Israel

Category:National parks of Israel

{{Israel-mosque-stub}}