Habibi Neccar Mosque

Mosque Name: Habib’i Neccar

Country: Turkey

City: Antakya

Year of construction (AH):

Year of construction (AD):

GPS: 36.201553 36.165468

Gibson Classification: Between

Rebuilt facing Mecca: Never

Description:

Habib-i Najjar Mosque is a historical mosque in Antakya, Hatay Province, Turkey, named after Habib’i Neccar or Habib al-Najjar, a carpenter, who lived in the time of Jesus Christ. In the early years of Christianity, he was martyred by the pagans, who refused to convert.

Muslims believe he was martyred for calling people to the religion of Allah. He is referred to in the Quran, (36, Ya-Sin, verses 20-27) as the supporter of the disciples calling the people to the worship of the One God: “Then there came running, from the farthest part of the city, a man, saying, ‘O my people! Obey the messengers. Obey those who ask no reward of you (for themselves), and who have received guidance.’”[Quran 36:20-21]

The city was captured first by the Rashidun Caliphate in 637, then recaptured by the Byzantine Empire in 969. It was captured about a hundred years later by the Seljuk Turks in 1084 and then lost to the Crusades in 1098 but was regained by the Baibars of the Mamluk Sultanate in 1268. Concurrently in each case, the status of the building was changed from church to mosque or back again. There is an inscription in the mosque which reads that it was rebuilt in 1275 CE after Baibars had converted it to a mosque.

The mosque was demolished during the 1853 earthquake. It was rebuilt on its earlier foundation by the Ottomans but the minaret was left standing and is the oldest surviving part of the mosque that is visible.