Jame Anwar
The mosque is located in Islamic Cairo, on the east side of al-Muʿizz Street, just south of Bab al-Futuh (the northern city gate). In the centuries since its construction, the mosque was often neglected and re-purposed for other functions, eventually falling into ruin. In 1980, a major restoration and reconstruction of the mosque was completed by the Dawoodi Bohras, resulting in its reopening for religious use.
History
Fatimid construction and modifications
The mosque's construction was initiated by the 5th Fatimid caliph al-ʿAziz Billah in the year 990 CE and the first Friday prayers took place in it a year later, though the building was incomplete. This suggests that the prayer hall or sanctuary, the area where prayers were led, was probably built first. His successor, al-Ḥākim bi-Amr Allāh, and his overseer Abu Muhammad al-Hafiz 'Abd al-Ghani ibn Sa'id al-Misri, resumed construction work in 1002–1003. In 1010, the minarets were modified by the construction of large square bastions around them, which hid much of the original towers. The chronology of construction in the mosque's interior and the determination of exactly which part was built by which patron, is uncertain.
Finally, its inauguration took place in Ramadan of the year 1013. It measured 120 meters by 113 meters when it was finished and was more than double the size of the al-Azhar Mosque. Al-Hakim allocated 40,000 dinars to the construction and then another 5,000 dinars to its furnishings. The al-Hakim Mosque was also known by an epithet, al-Anwar ('the Illuminated'), similar in style to the name of the earlier al-Azhar Mosque founded by the Fatimids. At the time of inauguration, al-Hakim permitted a celebratory procession which made its way from al-Azhar to al-Anwar and from al-Anwar back to al-Azhar.
The mosque originally stood outside the walls of Cairo, but when the Fatimid vizier Badr al-Jamali rebuilt and extended the city walls in 1087, the northern side of the mosque, including its minaret, was incorporated into the northern city wall (between the newly-built gates of Bab al-Futuh and Bab al-Nasr). A ziyada, or a walled outer enclosure, was also added around the mosque later, begun by Caliph al-Zahir (r. 1021–1036) but completed much later under the Ayyubid sultan al-Salih Najm al-Din (r. 1240–1249) and the Mamluk sultan Aybak (r. 1250–1257).
Post-Fatimid era
In 1303, during the Mamluk period, the mosque was severely damaged by an earthquake and was subsequently restored by Sultan Baybars II al-Jashankir. By that time, the mosque was also being used to teach Islamic law from the four Sunni maddhabs. In 1360, the mosque was restored again by Sultan Hasan. In the 15th century, a merchant sponsored the construction of a third minaret for the mosque, though this minaret has not been preserved.
The interior of the mosque fell into ruin over many centuries until its modern renovation, and the building was only intermittently used as a mosque. At various times, it was used as a prison for captured Franks (i.e. Latin crusaders) during the Crusades, as a stable by Saladin, as a fortress by Napoleon, as an Islamic arts Museum in 1890, and as a boys' school in the 20th century during Nasser's presidency. In the early 19th century, the mosque underwent a restoration sponsored by 'Umar Makram. The restoration also added a small mihrab to the interior that is still preserved today, dated to 1808.
20th century restoration
In 1980, the mosque was extensively reconstructed and refurbished in white marble and gold trim by Mohammed Burhanuddin, the head of the Dawoodi Bohra, an international Shia sect based in India. The restoration took 27 months and the mosque was officially re-opened on 24 November 1980, in a ceremony attended by Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, Mohammed Burhanuddin, and other high-ranking Egyptian officials.
Remnants of the original decorations, including stucco carvings, timber tie-beams, and Quranic inscriptions were preserved, but most of the mosque's present interior dates from this reconstruction. Among other things, the restoration introduced a new marble mihrab whose motifs imitated the appearance of the Fatimid-era stucco mihrab in the al-Azhar Mosque. It also involved the demolition of the Mamluk-era tomb of Qurqumas, which stood right in front of the mosque and which was subsequently relocated to the Northern Cemetery.
The use of "unauthentic" materials and additions during the restoration has been criticized by scholars and conservationists, particularly when judged by the standards of the Venice Charter. The issue has elicited scholarly debate about the relative merits of different philosophies on the restoration and reconstruction of historic sites. Some scholars, like James Roy King and Bernard O'Kane, have noted that the restoration has at least had the benefit of converting the building from a ruin to a functioning mosque that can be visited by anyone, even if some of the details of the restoration remain problematic.
21st century
In 2017, a new restoration project began, undertaken through a partnership between the Dawoodi Bohra community and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. The project encompassed various tasks such as addressing water damage, strengthening wooden structures, refurbishing chandeliers, installing security cameras, and updating electrical wiring. Efforts were made to restore the mosque's facades, marble floors, and interior inscriptions. The mosque was reopened after restorations in February 2023.
On June 25, 2023, Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi visited the mosque along with Prime Minister of Egypt, Mostafa Madbouly and son of Mufaddal Saifuddin, Husain Burhanuddin.
Architecture
General layout
The facades and minarets of the mosque are made from stone, while the rest of the structure is made of brick. The mosque's rectangular layout consists of an open courtyard surrounded by arcades (riwaqs) on four sides. Behind these arcades are roofed areas divided into aisles by more arcades that run parallel to the sides of the courtyard. The space on the northwest side of the courtyard (the entrance side) is two aisles deep, the spaces along its southwest and northeast sides are three aisles deep, and the main prayer hall on the southeast side is five aisles deep. This layout is similar to the layout of the older Ibn Tulun Mosque and the al-Azhar Mosque. A special aisle, running perpendicular to the others, cuts across the five aisles of the prayer hall and leads towards the mihrab (niche indicating the qibla or direction of prayer). This central aisle is further emphasized by its greater width and height, as well as by the presence of a dome, carried on squinches, that covers the space directly in front of the mihrab. In addition to the main mihrab (which dates entirely from the 1980 restoration), another smaller mihrab to the right, covered in polychrome marble, was added by 'Umar Makram in 1808.
An unusual feature of the mosque is the monumental main entrance (on the western side) with its projecting stone portal, similar to the older Fatimid-built Great Mosque of Mahdia in present-day Tunisia and most likely similar to the original entrance (no longer extant) of al-Azhar Mosque. The decoration and high-quality stonework of the portal, however, was quite different from that of other Fatimid mosques of this period. Scholar Doris Behrens-Abouseif suggests that this may be due to the employ of foreign craftsmen, perhaps from Syria. The mosque's original Fatimid portal has not been preserved; the current portal was reconstructed during the mosque's modern restoration according to earlier descriptions provided by K. A. C. Creswell.
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Main entrance of the mosque
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Courtyard of the mosque, looking towards the southeast to the central aisle of the prayer hall
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Interior of the mosque's prayer hall (mostly reconstructed in the 1980 restoration)
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The central aisle leading to the mihrab
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Main mihrab of the mosque (dating from the 1980 restoration)
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Dome in front of the mihrab
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Smaller mihrab dating to 1808, near the main mihrab