Ottoman mosques in Africa bridges of love between continents

The establishment of mosques is one of the most prominent features of the areas ruled by the Ottomans and their predecessors from the ancient Turkish countries. After the decline of the Sultanate, which ruled large parts of the continents of the old world, the mosques and mosques that the Ottomans left are still remaining in their places.

In his article for Anadolu Agency, Halim Gençoğlu, an academic at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, wrote that when the Seljuks entered the Anatolian region, they established in the present state of Kars (the far easternmost part of Turkey) the "Menu Jahr" mosque in 1073, and the sons of Tulun built the famous mosque after They entered Cairo in 884, in a clear embodiment of Turkish-Islamic architecture.

Therefore, these mosques spread from Turkestan to the Balkans, and from Anatolia to Africa, are part of the Ottoman Turkish culture, and carry the same architectural touches wherever they are built, in a step that poses a challenge to the ages, according to the author.

Mosques

The Turks entered Africa, for the first time, as leaders within the Abbasid army. The mosque built by Ahmed Ibn Tulun, founder of the Tulunid state in Cairo, after he entered it, is still standing to this day, according to the writer who wrote a book titled “Ottoman Antiquities in South Africa… The Impact of Eminent Turkish Emissaries and Muslim Scholars.”

The Abbasid Caliph Al-Mu'tasim bin Harun Al-Rashid entered the Turks into the backbone of the Ottoman Empire and appointed them to major positions. Among them was Al-Mu'tazz Baykbak, who was appointed by the Caliph to Egypt, but Ahmed bin Tulun (220 AH/835AD - 270 AH/884AD) delegated it to him from the Abbasids. And extends his state to the Levant.

The Mamluk state - which was founded by the Mamluks and they were white slaves of Turkish origin from Transoxiana, and who ruled Egypt after the Tulunids, also built many monuments that are dominated by the Turkish-Islamic architectural style.

In the 14th century AD, the Mamluk Sultan Hassan bin Muhammad bin Qalawun established the Sultan Hassan Complex in Cairo, which is dominated by the Seljuk architectural style.

It is remarkable the great similarity between the two large minarets next to the gate, and between the Anatolian Seljuk schools in each of the states of Erzurum and Sivas (central Anatolia), as well as the Ottoman mosques in both Tunisia and Libya are still tangible models that embody similar fingerprints.

In turn, Ozdemir Pasha, in the eighties of the 16th century, built the mosque with the only minaret in the Sudanese Abrim. Although no detailed information is available about it, it gives us an idea of ​​the Ottoman legacy on the African continent.

Fingerprints

The first religious symbols, in South Africa, were Christian crosses erected by Portuguese sailors along the coastal strip. With the Dutch establishing a trading center in the Cape of Good Hope in 1652, Christianity had permanent foundations for survival in the region, after which missionary activities began, which led to the spread of this religion among the local population.

In this context, the writer says: The white man was colonizing and exploiting the resources of the local population on the one hand, and spreading Christian beliefs among them on the other hand, believing that he would contribute to their transition to civilization and urbanization.

Following the occupation of Cape Town by the English between 1795 and 1806, these imperial Christian traditions continued to exist in the region, but the pioneers of Muslims who came to South Africa were able to preserve their religion and beliefs, despite these missionary activities, according to the writer.

The Republic of South Africa, located in the far south of the continent, and despite its centuries-old colonization by the West, and never subjected to Ottoman control, but contains dozens of Ottoman monuments and monuments, in an astonishing scene, and one of the most prominent reasons for this dependence that the local population showed towards the Ottoman Empire.

The Dutch brought Muslims from Indonesia and Java, since the 18th century, as slaves to the Cape of Good Hope. Due to the lack of religious freedom, Muslims divided among themselves into groups as a result of the spread of false beliefs, according to the author.

With the ban on the slave trade in 1834, these Muslims became acquainted with the Ottoman Empire and its successor, during their visit to Mecca to perform the Hajj. Later, in 1856, Muslims in South Africa began building a mosque in Port Elizabeth and submitted - through the Honorary Consul Rubiks - a request to the Ottoman Caliph, seeking help to complete the construction of the mosque.

Indeed, Sultan Abdul Aziz responded, and completed the construction of the mosque, which was later called the Aziz Mosque, and it is still lofty until now and a symbol of the first Ottoman charitable institution in the far south of the continent.

The academic at the University of Cape Town considers that this step was the beginning of a new phase in South Africa, where the Ottoman support for the construction of the mosque contributed to arousing the feelings of Muslims there. In 1863, the Turkish judge and jurist Abu Bakr Effendi, as an envoy of the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Aziz I, arrived at the Cape of Good Hope to resolve some disputes between Muslim groups. The Islamic school he opened there contributed to the consolidation of relations between the region's Muslims and the Ottoman Empire.

Following Sheikh Effendi's death, his students built the Nur Hamidiye Mosque in Cape Town, and the Osman Mosque in Paarl. Such mosques became known among the local population as "Ottoman Mosques" because of the gifts sent by Sultan Abdul Aziz.

Among those gifts are prayer rugs to decorate the walls of these mosques, which are still there, according to what Turkish journalist Hikmet Feridun S, who visited the Cape of Good Hope in 1961, tells.

The Hamidiye Islamic Society, through its various activities, maintained strong relations between the Ottoman Empire and the Muslims of the region. Among the most prominent of these activities is the distribution of medals to those who provided aid from there for the Hejaz Railway Project.

These mosques are still lofty to this day, preserving the Ottoman heritage, despite their vast distance from the center of the Ottoman Empire, to form bridges of love with the residents of the areas in which they are located.