{{short description|Partially destroyed mosque in Haifa, Israel}} {{for|similarly named mosques|List of grand mosques}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2025}} {{Infobox religious building | name = Al-Jarina Mosque | native_name = مسجد الجرينة | native_name_lang = ar | image = Al-Jarina Mosque, Haifa 2 (3).JPG | alt = | caption = The mosque clock tower in 2011 | religious_affiliation = [[Islam]] {{small|(former)}} | tradition = [[Sunni]] | sect = | district = | prefecture = | province = | region = | deity = | rite = | festival = <!-- or |festivals= --> | organisational_status = [[Mosque]] {{small|(1775{{endash}}2025)}}<!-- or |organizational_status= --> | ownership = | governing_body = | leadership = | bhattaraka = | patron = | consecration_year = | functional_status = '''Inactive''';<br/>{{small|(partially destroyed)}} | religious_features_label = | religious_features = | location = NNatanzon Street, [[Haifa]] | locale = | municipality = | cercle = | state = | country = [[Israel]] | map_type = Israel haifa | map_size = 250 | map_alt = | map_relief = 1 | map_caption = Location of the former mosque in [[Haifa]] | mapframe = yes<!-- see below for more mapframe parameters --> | grid_name = | grid_position = | sector = | territory = | administration = | coordinates = {{coord|32|48|55|N|35|0|24|E|region:IS_type:landmark|display=it}} | coordinates_footnotes = | heritage_designation = | architect = | architecture_type = {{nowrap|[[Mosque architecture]]}} | architecture_style = [[Ottoman architecture|Ottoman]] | founded_by = | creator = | funded_by = | general_contractor = | established = | groundbreaking = | year_completed = 1775 [[Common Era|CE]] | construction_cost = | date_destroyed = June 20, 2025 {{small|(in the [[Twelve-Day War]])}}<!-- or |date_destroyed= --> | facade_direction = | capacity = | length = | width = | width_nave = | interior_area = | height_max = | dome_quantity = | dome_height_outer = | dome_height_inner = | dome_dia_outer = | dome_dia_inner = | minaret_quantity = {{nowrap|One: {{small|destroyed: (1948)}}}} | minaret_height = | spire_quantity = | spire_height = | site_area = | temple_quantity = | monument_quantity = | shrine_quantity = | inscriptions = | materials = | elevation_m = <!-- or |elevation_ft= --> | elevation_footnotes = | nrhp = | designated = | added = | refnum = | delisted1_date = | website = | module = <!-- for embedding other infobox templates --> | footnotes = }} [[File:מסגד אל ג'רינה בחיפה פנים המסגד, סיור במסגרת שבוע מורשת של המועצה לשימור אתרים 10.jpg|250px|thumb|The interior of the mosque in 2025, prior to its partial destruction]] The '''Al-Jarina Mosque''' or '''Al-Jerina Mosque''' ({{langx|ar|مسجد الجرينة|Masjid al-Jarina|Threshing Floor Mosque}}; {{langx|he|מסגד אל-ג'רינה}}), also known as the '''Great Mosque of Haifa''' ({{langx|ar|مسجد حيفا الكبير|Masjid Haifa al-Kabir}}), was the main mosque of [[Haifa]], [[Israel]].

Built in 1775 [[Common Era|CE]], during the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] rule of the [[Ottoman Syria|Levant]], the mosque was originally named ''al-Nasr Mosque'' ({{langx|ar|مسجد النصر|lit=Victory Mosque}}), in honor of Admiral Hassan Pasha al-Jazairli's victory over local ruler Daher al-Omar in August 1775. The name "Al-Jarina" was given due to its proximity to the open market square known as Jarina.<ref>{{Cite web |title=⁨‭?_1£ § _! ?1 VI " ',_^ .'.^&gt;^&gt;^&gt;‬נ ו נו ? ו ‭_^ _^₪‬ ירד ו ? ⁩ &mdash; ⁨⁨מעריב⁩ 23 פברואר 1964⁩ &mdash; הספרייה הלאומית של ישראל │ עיתונים |url=https://www.nli.org.il/he/newspapers/mar/1964/02/23/01/article/114 |access-date=2025-06-20 |website=www.nli.org.il |language=he}}</ref> The mosque was located in downtown Haifa on Natanzon Street (formerly al-Umayya Street), near the Sail Tower within Haifa's Governmental Center.

The mosque was struck by an Iranian missile during the [[Twelve-Day War]] while Muslim clerics were gathering inside on June 20, 2025;<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-06-20 |script-title=he:מסגד נפגע במתקפת הטילים על חיפה, אנשי דת ששהו במקום נפצעו - ערוץ 14 |url=https://www.c14.co.il/article/1248432 |access-date=2025-06-20 |website=c14.co.il |language=he}}</ref> and injured worshippers and clerics.<ref>{{Cite press release |date=June 20, 2025 |title=Iranian missile attack strikes Al-Jarina Mosque in Haifa |url=https://www.israelnationalnews.com/flashes/660409 |access-date=June 21, 2025 |via=7Israelnationalnews |publisher=Minister of Foreign Affairs }}</ref> {{as of|2025|07}}, the mosque was closed for worship.<ref>{{cite news |author=Surkes, Sue |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/shockwaves-from-iran-missile-damage-haifa-mosque/ |title=Shockwaves from Iran missile damage Haifa mosque |work=[[Times of Israel]] |date=20 June 2025 |access-date=12 July 2025 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Barnea, Yuval |url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-858440 |title=Iranian ballistic missile damages oldest, second oldest mosques in Haifa |work=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |date=20 June 2025 |access-date=12 July 2025 }}</ref>

== Structure == The mosque consisted of several buildings surrounding a large paved square ''[[sahn]]''. On the northern side lies the main rectangular prayer hall, oriented east–west, with the [[mihrab]] facing east. Until 1948, the mosque featured a small [[minaret]] from which the [[muezzin]] would call to prayer; this minaret was destroyed.

During both the Ottoman period and the British Mandate era, the plaza in front of the mosque served as a commercial and civic center for Haifa's Arab Muslim residents, with numerous shops surrounding it. Between the mosque and Hamra Square to its west ran the Market Street, Haifa's main street at the time.

In 1958, renovations were carried out at the mosque at a cost exceeding 25,000 Israeli lira. A dedication ceremony marking the completion of these renovations was held on April 21, 1958. In 1964, Haifa Municipality planned to turn part of the mosque complex into a cultural center, housing a library and community club alongside its religious functions.<ref>{{Cite web |last=כרנתינג'י |first=סמר עודה- |date=2024-06-13 |script-title=he:הצריח בחיפה שנהרס לפני עשרות שנים ייבנה מחדש |url=https://haipo.co.il/item/520464 |access-date=2025-06-20 |script-website=he:חי פֹּה - תאגיד החדשות של חיפה והסביבה |language=he-IL}}</ref> Further renovations and restoration, funded by the Al-Aqsa Foundation, were completed in 2011.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.islamicarchitecturalheritage.com/listings/al-jarina-grand-mosque-al-nasr-mosque-haifa-mosque |title=Al Jarina Grand Mosque, Al-Nasr Mosque, Haifa Mosque |work=IRCICA |date=2019 |access-date=12 July 2025 }}</ref>

The mosque's minaret, destroyed in the late 1940s, was slated for reconstruction after Israel's Interior Ministry allocated funds for its restoration in June 2024.

=== Clock tower === At the end of the 19th century, a clock tower was constructed on the mosque's southern side, made of [[kurkar]] (calcareous sandstone). The tower was erected by order of Sultan [[Abdul Hamid II]], as part of an empire-wide project to build clock towers in several cities to commemorate the 25th anniversary of his reign; seven such towers were built across Ottoman Palestine. Haifa's tower was commissioned by the city's fourth mayor, Mustafa Pasha al-Khalil.

The tower is square-shaped, rising six stories high, topped by a concrete dome and a crescent-bearing pole. An iron balcony surrounds the top floor. Round windows were installed on all four sides of the second and fourth stories, with clocks originally placed in the fourth-floor windows. Today, only the southern clock face remains, with its iron Latin numerals still visible. Originally, the clock faces bore Arabic numerals.

The main entrance pathway to the mosque's courtyard passes through the tower's ground floor. Above the entrance is an inscription commemorating the 25th year of Sultan Abdul Hamid II's reign, bearing the year 1316 AH (1898/9 CE). Interestingly, this suggests the Haifa clock tower may have been built earlier than most of the other Ottoman towers, which were generally erected around 1901.

A 1905 photograph shows a Star of David motif within one of the second-floor round windows, a feature that has since been removed.

On May 3, 2004, the [[Israel Postal Company]] issued a stamp series titled "Ottoman Clock Towers in Israel," including a 1.30 NIS stamp depicting the Haifa clock tower.

== Gallery == <gallery> Al-Jarina Mosque, Haifa 1 (7).JPG|Inscription above entrance Al-Jarina Mosque, Haifa 1 (3).JPG|Main gate as seen from inside courtyard facing south; stairs to clock tower on the right Al-Jarina Mosque, Haifa 1 (2).JPG|Northern side of the tower Al-Jarina Mosque, Haifa 1 (9).JPG|Southern side of the tower, viewed from below Al-Jarina Mosque, Haifa 1.JPG|Metal numerals on southern clock face Al-Jarina Mosque, Haifa (6).JPG|The mosque alongside the nearby Sail Tower Al Jarina mosque.jpg|The mosque at night, with surrounding government buildings המסגד הגדול לפני שיפוץ הגדרות.jpg|The mosque prior to fence renovations Al-Jarina Mosque, Haifa 2 (7).JPG|The mosque during renovations, in 2011

</gallery>

== See also == {{stack|{{portal|Islam|Israel}}}} * [[Islam in Israel]] * [[List of mosques in Israel]]

== References == {{Reflist}}

== Further reading == * Yehuda Levanoni, ''The Ottoman Clock Tower in Haifa'', Haifa: Journal of the Haifa Historical Society, No. 5, December 2007, p.&nbsp;2 (Hebrew) * Yaakov Shorer, ''Touring Haifa: Between the Carmel and the Sea'', Ministry of Defense Publishing, 2003, pp.&nbsp;38–39 (Hebrew)

== External links == {{Commons category-inline|Al Jarina mosque}} * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4uWjDqCJdI Documentary about Daher al-Omar] (in Hebrew)

{{Mosques in Israel}}

[[Category:18th-century mosques in Israel]] [[Category:Clock towers in Israel]] [[Category:Grand mosques|Haifa]] [[Category:Ottoman mosques in Israel]] [[Category:Religious buildings and structures in Haifa]] [[Category:Mosques completed in the 1770s]] [[Category:Religious buildings and structures completed in 1775]] [[Category:Mosque buildings with minarets in Israel]] [[Category:Buildings and structures destroyed during the Twelve-Day War]]