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The Mosque Of Al
Hakim
The Mosque of Al Hakim
is now located at the end of Al Muiz Street very close to Bab El
Fetooh, one of
Egypt's ancient gates. It is also near the famous
Khan El Khalili market. Therefore, it is always a good idea to
explore the monuments in the Muiz Street after visiting the most
famous tourists market in the world, putting in consideration that
Cairo one day only consisted of this narrow street and the areas
around it. Therefore the street contains a huge variety of Islamic
monuments
Each of these periods had its own requirements and characteristics
which were clearly reflected on the shape, size, and style of the
architecture. Moreover, Each ruler tried his best to build
structures that express the features of the period he went through.
Among the most famous Islamic monuments in
Egypt , there is the
Mosque of Mohamed Ali in the citadel of Salah El Din, the Madrasa of
Sultan Hassan, the Mosque of Ahmed Ibn Tulun, The mosque of Al Azhar,
and the Mosque of Amr Ibn Al Aas, the oldest mosque ever built in
Egypt and in Africa.
However, there are many other amazing Islamic monuments in
Egypt
that tourists, and even Egyptians themselves, usually miss because
probably they don’t know of their existence. Some of these monuments
are really unique ,picturesque, and have been built on a vast piece
of land .
One of the best examples of these remarkable monuments is the Mosque
of Al Hakim Be'amr Allah which is considered one of the oldest
Islamic monuments in
Egypt, and its builder, Al Hakim, one of the
most famous Caliphs that ever ruled
Egypt.
The Mosque of Al Hakim is now located at the end of Al Muiz Street
very close to Bab El Fetooh, one of
Egypt's ancient gates. It is
also near the famous Khan El Khalili market. Therefore, it is always
a good idea to explore the monuments in the Muiz Street after
visiting the most famous tourists market in the world, putting in
consideration that
Cairo one day only consisted of this narrow
street and the areas around it. Therefore the street contains a huge
variety of Islamic monuments.
Al Hakim and his advocacy for the new religion!
Construction work of the ancient Mosque of Al Hakim started in the
year 990 AD with a decision from the Fatimid Caliph "Al Aziz be
Allah Ibn Al Muiz le Din Allah" and the mosque was completed in 1012
during the reign of Al Hakim Be'amr Allah, the third Fatimid ruler
in
Egypt.
Many rumors and a lot of debates were aroused around Al Hakim, his
ideas, and the period of his rule. Al Hakim came to power when he
was only 11 years old and he formed a plan to assassinate his tutor
while he was 15 and he succeeded. It was said that he burned a lot
of places in
Cairo when people objected to obey some of his weird
laws like: replacing his name instead of the name of god, Allah, in
the prayers, forbidding people from eating mallow, the Egyptian Molokhia which is one of the most popular Egyptian dishes until now
because he hated it. He also prohibited shoemakers to manufacture
shoes for women as he believed they should stay home, and it was
also debated that he ordered his men once to throw all of
Egypt's
production of molasses in the river Nile, and many other stories and
rumors.
The weirdest and most serious story that was told concerning Al
Hakim was that he used to go to a cave in Al Moqatem mountain and
stay there alone for long hours. One night, he claimed that he heard
a voice telling him that he should unite both religions, Islam and
Christianity, to become one new unified religion. The reason maybe
why these ideas entered his head is that his father is the founder
of the Fatimid Shiite doctrine and in the same time his mother was
the sister of the Patriarch of the Copts in
Egypt at the time.
The theory of Al Hakim depends on the notion that there is only one
god, so why don’t we have only one religion, Why shouldn’t we have
only one profit, and why shouldn’t him, Al Hakim, become this
prophet conveying the message of this new religion.
When Al Hakim started planning how to spread the message of this new
religion, he didn’t know the conspiracy that was taking place around
him, with one of the royal family ladies participating in it with
the help of the army commander, Seif El Din Ibn Rawash. They decided
to assassinate him before he spreads the poison of this new religion
among the people of
Egypt, putting into account that the Fatimids
were Shiites and very conservative towards their Islamic beliefs and
thoughts.
As a matter of fact, one night while Al Hakim was riding his donkey
and going to his Cave in the mountain, a group of strong black
slaves attacked him and killed him, and his body was never found
until today. This was the last event in the life of one of the
strangest rulers of
Egypt.
Although, many historical theories support all of the facts
mentioned above, nobody was ever sure what was really inside the
head of Al Hakim and was he really a cruel ruler or did his
assassins spread these rumors to ruin his reputation and his
history. They only absolute fact about Al Hakim is his mosque which
is still present in
Egypt until today.
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