The JD1 million, three-storey mosque features prayer halls for men and women, multipurpose rooms, courtyards and other facilities
AMMAN (JT) -- His Majesty King Abdullah on Tuesday inaugurated the Ahl Al Kahf (Seven Sleepers) Mosque in Abu Alanda near Sahab, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
The Islamic site is one of 20 that have undergone restoration work to render them more attractive for religious tourism.
They include the sahaba shrines in Muta and other holy sites in Salt and the Jordan Valley.
The new mosque is located on a plot of land adjacent to the cave where the seven sleepers are believed to have slept for more than 300 years, according to the story mentioned in the Holy Koran. There are also citations of the story in the Bible.
The JD1 million, three-storey mosque features prayer halls for men and women, multipurpose rooms, courtyards and other facilities.
The existing site includes two old mosques: One is located directly on the cave, which was part of a Byzantine cemetery unearthed during excavations in 1963. The second mosque is just outside the cave.
The new mosque will host the planned King Abdullah Institute for the Training and Rehabilitation of Preachers and Imams.
Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Abdul Fattah Salah said the institute will upgrade the capabilities of mosque imams and acquaint them with knowledge of the modern world, in order to enable them to understand and deal more aptly with contemporary issues.
The rehabilitation of imams and preachers has been at the core of the King's efforts to promote the true values of Islam as a key contributor to world civilisation. Well-educated imams who are more conscious of issues of concern to the people, the King has stated on more than one occasion, are likely to help fight extremism and takfiri ideology, which is the basis of terrorism that is practised in the name of Islam.
The Holy Koran narrates the story of seven Christian youth, who took shelter in the cave with their dog, fleeing the oppression of a ruler who was a non-believer. Miraculously, they slept for 309 years and when they awoke, the world had changed and the town had embraced their faith. After they died, a church was built on their cave.
© Jordan Times 2006
