Omeriye: A Mosque in Nicosia
Date Added
01/07/2022
Content Type
Article
Category
Magazine
Link to Content
Subject Area
Mosques
Author
Martin Strohmeier
Publisher Name
Journal of Muslims in Europe
Year of Publication
2015
Description
The article deals with the Omeriye Mosque which was erected as a church in the
14th century and transformed into a mosque by the Ottomans in the 16th century. It
was used exclusively by Turkish-Cypriot Muslims until the mid-1950s. Since the 1980s
it has become a multinational place of worship. The mosque, located in the southern
(“Greek”) part of divided Nicosia, is today a meeting place for hundreds of Muslims
mainly from Syria, Egypt, Pakistan and Bangladesh; they include migrant workers,
students, and asylum-seekers. After a short historical introduction, the article examines the spatial characteristics of the mosque, the ethnic and social composition of
the mosque-goers, particulars of worship and teachings as well as the running of the
mosque.
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