Omari Mosque of Gaza: A Reminder of How Times Change and Civilisations Rise and Fall
Omari Mosque and the Philistine Temple Omari mosque was the oldest mosque in Gaza and the largest. On December 9, 2023, news came out of Gaza that the mosque was destroyed in the Israeli bombing. As a place of worship, this mosque and the land on which it stands have a deep and layered history. This mosque symbolises change and the transitory nature of all belief systems. It reminds us that what we believe as absolute truth could change with the ebb and flow of time. The story of this place dates back to the Iron Age, the 2nd millennium BCE, and to the people, the Philistines, who lived on this land. The Philistines are one of the first aliens in written human history. In the Old Testament, they are the outsiders who were unlike and hated by the Semitic people, the Canaanites, Hebrews, Aramaeans, Assyrians, and Babylonians. They were the enemies of the “children of light,” the Israelites. Dagon was a Philistine god, rather, the head god of the Philistines. Dagon had a temple in the lan...
