The Israeli Antiquities Authority announced on Wednesday that it had discovered the remains of one of the oldest rural mosques in the world, showing the spread of Islam in the Negev desert region of southern Israel.
The mosque dates from the 7th or 8th centuries of the Christian era. This means that it existed in the early days of Islam, more than 1,200 years ago.
It was discovered after excavations in the Bedouin city of Rahat, located in the Negev.
The mosque includes “a square room and a wall facing Mecca” with a prayer place (mihrab) in a semicircle facing south, the Israeli Antiquities Authority (AIA) said in a statement.
“These unique architectural features show that the building was used as a mosque” and could probably hold a few dozen worshippers, the AIA added.
Close to the mosque, a luxurious building was also discovered, with remains of crockery and glass objects that give evidence of the wealth of the inhabitants, the authorities pointed out.
Remains of a rural mosque dating from the same period had already been exhumed in 2019, also in Rahat.
These Muslim vestiges, among “the oldest in the world”, allow us to learn more about the “introduction of a new religion — Islam — and a new domination and culture in the region”, the Authority said.
This domination and culture “were progressively established by receiving inheritances from the ancient Byzantine government and the Christian religion that reigned over the territory for hundreds of years,” he added.
The exhumed mosques in Rahat will be preserved in their current location, either as historic monuments or active places of worship, Israeli officials added.
