WATANI International
25 September 2011
A number of Imams of Sutlan Hassan Mosque have joined the residents of the neighbourhood to request that the mosque should open to the public for maghrib (sunset), isha (evening) and fagr (dawn) prayers. The mosque is already open for zohr (noon) and asr (afternoon) prayers, but is otherwise closed.
The mosque has been closing after official working hours ever since the disappearance last year of the minbar (pulpit) of Qanbai al-Ramah, recorded by the Culture Ministry as an antique. The theft was reported to the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) which, until then, was affiliated to the Culture Ministry and was in charge of securing the mosque.
Both the ministries of culture and religious endowments are responsible for providing security for mosques and antiques but, after the 25 January Revolution and the dissociation of the SCA from the Ministry of Culture, the security issue became a problem. At the time, Ashraf al-Ashmawi—the legal advisor of the Culture Minister—declared that the role of the SCA stops at registering the antiques and guarding the museums and monuments, but not the mosques or churches. These, he said, are the responsibility of the Ministry of Religious Endowments and the Church.
“It is impossible to open the mosque after the official closing hour at 5:00pm because of the non-availability of security guards; opening it will represent a threat to its contents”, says Fahmy Abdel-Halim, former chief of the Department of Islamic and Coptic Monuments.
An SCA source said that the visitor and worshipper flow into the mosque was working well, with no disputes or administrative problems.
The Sultan Hassan Mosque is one of Cairo##s major tourist attractions. A massive edifice with innovative architectural components, it was built in 1356 during the Mamluk era by Sultan Hassan Ibn-Qalawun. Its several unique features include ornate inscriptions; the uncommon shape of the dome, the copper door, the novel iwan, and the cover of the entrance to the school.