Abstract:
This study examines the history of what has traditionally been regarded as the oldest mosque on Bahrain. In addition to
reviewing the available scholarship on the architectural history of the building, particular attention is paid to the epigraphic evidence,
published a quarter of a century ago by Ludvik Kalus, which demonstrates conclusively the Shi‘a nature of the mosque. These texts, in
turn, clearly indicate the Shi‘a character of the ‘Uyunid dynasty which reigned in what is today eastern Saudi Arabia.
Machine summary:
The Shi'a origins of the 12th century 'Uyunid Madrasah Abu Zaidan (Suq al-Khamis Mosque) on Bahrain Daniel T Potts New York University Received: March 2, 2015 Accepted: May 12, 2015 This study examines the history of what has traditionally been regarded as the oldest mosque on Bahrain.
Introduction The Madrasah Abu Zaidan or Suq al-Khamis mosque (Fig. 2) is traditionally regarded as the oldest standing monument of the Islamic era on the island of Bahrain in the Persian Gulf (cf.
Diez's interpretation of the Suq al-Khamis mosque was greatly influenced by the inscription on one of the qibla stones (Fig. 5) which names Muhammad, 'Ali, Hasan and Husayn.
e. (Vine 1993: 77), the authors of Antiquities of Bahrain attributed the foundation of the building to Abu Sinan on the basis of one of the inscriptions described by Belgrave which, at the time of writing, had "recently been built into the doorway of the western minaret" (Maloney and Kay 1970: 22).
This text thus disproves the suggestion, found in Welcome to Bahrain, that the twin minarets of the Suq al-Khamis mosque date to the period 1339/40 (Maloney and Kay 1970: 22).
Kalus agreed with Diez in dating the inscription palaeographically to the 12th century and thus considered it approximately contemporary with the major Texts 1 and 2 which, in his opinion, concern the original construction of the mosque.
11), thus dating to the late Portuguese period, calls the Suq al-Khamis mosque 'the noble martyrium with two minarets in the land of Uwal', recalling the epithet used in the text of 740/1339- 40 seen by Diez.