Al-Aqsa Mosque

A congregational mosque in Jerusalem’s Haram al-Sharif, traditionally dated to the early Islamic period and repeatedly rebuilt. It is a major Islamic holy site and part of a compound sacred to Muslims, Jews, and Christians.

Umayyad architecture: The architectural tradition of the Umayyad Caliphate, known for monumental religious and civic buildings. The mosque’s earliest construction is associated with Umayyad rule in Jerusalem.
Haram al-Sharif: A walled religious compound in Jerusalem, known to Jews as the Temple Mount. Al-Aqsa Mosque occupies the southern part of this compound.
Hypostyle hall: A large interior space whose roof is supported by rows of columns or pillars. Rows of supports divide the mosque’s prayer hall into aisles.
Israeli–Palestinian conflict: The political and national conflict between Israelis and Palestinians over territory, sovereignty, and rights. Disputes over access and control of the compound are entangled with this conflict.
Al-Aqsa minbar: A monumental wooden pulpit installed in Al-Aqsa Mosque in the twelfth century and destroyed in 1969. Its destruction became a defining episode in the mosque’s modern history.
Abd al-Malik: The Umayyad caliph who ruled from 685 to 705 and sponsored major building projects in Jerusalem. His reign shaped the early Islamic monumental landscape around the mosque.
Dome of the Rock: An Umayyad shrine in Jerusalem distinguished by its central dome and octagonal plan. It stands within the same compound but is a shrine, not a congregational mosque.
Mihrab: A niche in a mosque wall marking the direction of prayer toward Mecca. The mosque’s mihrab marks the qibla at the southern end of the prayer hall.
Status quo (Jerusalem holy sites): An informal arrangement governing access and religious administration at Jerusalem’s holy sites. The mosque operates within longstanding arrangements over worship and administration.
Qibli Mosque: The southern covered prayer building within the Haram al-Sharif, often called the Al-Aqsa Mosque itself. This building is the principal congregational prayer hall commonly meant by the mosque’s name.

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