Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Mosque

Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Mosque
Religion
AffiliationSunni Islam
Location
LocationDoha, Qatar
Architecture
TypeMosque
StyleIslamic
Specifications
Capacity30,000
Dome(s)90
Minaret(s)1
MaterialsSandstone
Parking lot for Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Mosque with West Bay skyline in background.
Bookshelves in the mosque library.

Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Mosque (also called the Qatar State Mosque) is the national mosque of Qatar. It is named after Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, a Sunni Muslim preacher, scholar, and theologian from the Najd region in central Arabia,[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] founder of the Islamic revivalist and reformist movement known as Wahhabism.[1][2][3][4][7]

Architecture

The mosque is built in traditional Arab style with modern features.[6]

Spanning an expansive area of 175,164 square meters, the mosque features a centrally air-conditioned hall where up to 11,000 men can comfortably participate in prayers. Additionally, a generously sized enclosure adjacent to the central hall accommodates 1,200 women. The mosque boasts three primary entrances and 17 side entrances. The central hall is adorned with 28 large domes, while the outer quadrangle is crowned with 65 domes.[8] On the whole the mosque can hold a congregation of 30,000 people.[6]

Controversy

The mosque was opened in 2011, with the Emir of Qatar presiding over the occasion.[5][6] In 2012, the mosque banned children from entering the mosque during tarawih prayers in the month of Ramadhan. This resulted in parents arguing with security staff.[9]

A female worshiper accompanying a toddler complained that they were turned away from sunset prayers (when the mosque was fairly empty). When she protested, she was offered a prayer rug and shown to a corner near the ablution room, but was still not allowed to go upstairs to pray.[10] Male worshipers had similar complaints.[10]

In 2013 the ban was reinstated, causing further outrage among mosque attendees.[9]

Mohamad al-Arefe said that Syria jihad is incumbent and did apologia for the militant Islamist group al-Nusra Front, visiting the Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Mosque.[11]

Zaghloul El-Naggar engaged in 9/11 denial and spoke twice in the Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Mosque.[11]

In a Sermon at Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Mosque, Sa'ad Ateeq al-Ateeq delivered a sermon, calling for the end of Jews and Christians by the hands of God and called for Muslims and Islam to be exalted by God in February 2013.[12][13] On 2 October 2013, at the Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Mosque, Sa'ad Ateeq al-Ateeq again called for the destruction of Christians and Jews and called for Muslims and Islam to be exalted.[14] In February 2014, the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs (Qatar) tweeted that the Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Mosque was hosting another sermon by al-Ateeq.[15] On 6 July 2014, during Ramadan, al-Ateeq preached at the Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Mosque.[16] On 9 July 2014 al-Ateeq also gave another Ramadan sermon at the Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Mosque.[17] Sa'ad Ateeq al-Ateeq has called for the destruction of Shias, Christians, Nusayris (Alawites), and Jews and called for Muslims and Islam to be exalted in the Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Mosque in January 2015.[18][19] This was advertised on the website of the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs (Qatar)[20] and on the official Twitter account of the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs (Qatar)[21] His January 2015 sermon in the Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Mosque was advertised by al-Ateeq on his Twitter.[22] The Foundation for Defense of Democracies,[23] The Daily Beast,[24] and Foreign Policy magazine have run articles on Al-Ateeq and his views, with Foreign Policy having compiled a large documentation of his government sponsored activities at this Mosque.[25]

In 2017, there has been a request published on the Saudi Arabian newspaper Okaz signed by 200 descendants of Ibn Abd al-Wahhab to change the name of the mosque, because according to their statement "it does not carry its true Salafi path", even though most Qataris adhere to Wahhabism.[26][27][28]

References

  1. ^ a b Laoust, H. (2012) [1993]. "Ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb". In Bearman, P. J.; Bianquis, Th.; Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E. J.; Heinrichs, W. P. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nd ed.). Leiden: Brill Publishers. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_3033. ISBN 978-90-04-16121-4.
  2. ^ a b Haykel, Bernard (2013). "Ibn ‛Abd al-Wahhab, Muhammad (1703-92)". In Böwering, Gerhard; Crone, Patricia; Kadi, Wadad; Mirza, Mahan; Stewart, Devin J.; Zaman, Muhammad Qasim (eds.). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. pp. 231–232. ISBN 978-0-691-13484-0. Retrieved 15 July 2020. Founder of a revivalist and reformist religious movement centered in Najd in central Arabia and commonly referred to as the Wahhabiyya or Wahhabis, Muhammad b. 'Abd al-Wahhab belonged to a prominent family of Hanbali scholars, the Al Musharraf of Ushayqir
  3. ^ a b Esposito, John L., ed. (2004). "Ibn Abd al-Wahhab, Muhammad (d. 1791)". The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 123. ISBN 0-19-512559-2. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Ibn Abd al-Wahhab, Muhammad - Oxford Islamic Studies Online". www.oxfordislamicstudies.com. Oxford University Press. 2020. Archived from the original on July 12, 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Qatar's state mosque opens to the public". Doha News. Doha News. 6 December 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d "Imam Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab Mosque in Doha - Qatar". Beautiful Mosque. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  7. ^ a b Wagemakers, Joas (2021). "Part 3: Fundamentalisms and Extremists – The Citadel of Salafism". In Cusack, Carole M.; Upal, M. Afzal (eds.). Handbook of Islamic Sects and Movements. Brill Handbooks on Contemporary Religion. Vol. 21. Leiden and Boston: Brill Publishers. pp. 333–347. doi:10.1163/9789004435544_019. ISBN 978-90-04-43554-4. ISSN 1874-6691.
  8. ^ Desk, Marhaba (2021-11-19). "The State Mosque". Marhaba Qatar. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  9. ^ a b "Qatar's state mosque reinstates Ramadan ban on small kids". Doha News. Doha News. 14 July 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  10. ^ a b "A place in Qatar where kids are *not* welcome? Let the debate begin". Doha News. Doha News. 25 July 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  11. ^ a b Gilligan, Andrew (27 Sep 2014). "The 'Club Med for terrorists'". The Telegraph.
  12. ^ خطبة الجمعة للشيخ سعد العتيق بجامع محمد بن عبدالوهاب بقطر. Feb 26, 2013.
  13. ^ Segments of sermon by Sa'ad Ateeq al-Ateeq - Feb. 2013. Feb 11, 2015.
  14. ^ خطبة الجمعة الشيخ سعد عتيق الدوسري 28 ذو القعدة 1434 هـ. Oct 6, 2013.
  15. ^ وزارة الأوقاف - قطر [@AwqafM] (February 20, 2014). "موعدكم اليوم مع محاضرة بعنوان (الزم قدميها) لفضيلة الشيخ / سعد العتيق بعد صلاة العشاء بجامع الإمام محمد بن عبدالوهاب" (Tweet) (in Arabic). Retrieved 29 December 2020 – via Twitter.
  16. ^ عبادة الصمت - لفضيلة الشيخ.د / سعد العتيق. Nov 16, 2014.
  17. ^ مكائد الشيطان - لفضيلة الشيخ .د / سعد بن عتيق العتيق. Dec 8, 2014.
  18. ^ Segment of sermon by Sa'ad Ateeq al-Ateeq - Jan. 2015. Feb 9, 2015.
  19. ^ #خطبة_الجمعة سعد العتيق 10 ربيع الثاني 1436 هـ. Jan 30, 2015.
  20. ^ "د. العتيق يخطب الجمعة بجامع الامام". وزارة الأوقاف والشؤون الإسلامية - دولة قطر. January 30, 2015.
  21. ^ وزارة الأوقاف - قطر [@AwqafM] (January 29, 2015). "الشيخ د.سعد بن عتيق العتيق خطيب يوم الجمعة 2015/1/30 بجامع الإمام محمد بن عبدالوهاب http://t.co/sYdB1bGmAC" (Tweet) (in Arabic). Retrieved 29 December 2020 – via Twitter.
  22. ^ سعد بن عتيق العتيق [@SaadAlateeg] (January 29, 2015). "عشاء الليلة الخميس 9 ربيع الثاني محاضرة للشيخ / سعد العتيق بجامع الامام محمد بن عبد الوهاب بالدوحة #قطر ادارة الصفحة http://t.co/BIOiSMm9wW" (Tweet) (in Arabic). Retrieved 29 December 2020 – via Twitter.
  23. ^ Adaki, Oren; Weinberg, David Andrew. "Recent Qatari incitement and Troubling Extremist Ties". Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
  24. ^ Dettmer, Jamie (14 April 2017). "Qatar's a U.S. Ally Against ISIS, So Why's It Cheerleading the Bad Guys?". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  25. ^ Adaki, Oren; Weinberg, David Andrew (May 5, 2015). "Preaching Hate and Sectarianism in the Gulf". Foreign Policy.
  26. ^ "Descendants of Saudi Wahhabism founder distance themselves from Qatar". Reuters. 29 May 2017. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  27. ^ "Qatar and the Arab Spring". openDemocracy. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
  28. ^ Nahouza, Namira (2018). Wahhabism and the Rise of the New Salafists: Theology, Power and Sunni Islam. I.B. Tauris. p. 1. ISBN 9781788311427.
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