Gaza university receives grant to restore Sufi building

The Iwan Center for Cultural Heritage at the Islamic University has started a project to restore the 700-year-old Zawiya Al-Ahmadiyya in Gaza’s Old City, one of the few remaining Sufi buildings dating back to the Mamluk era, writes Ahmad Abu Amer for Al-Monitor.

Zawia is the Arabic term for a Sufi institute. Zawiya Al-Ahmadiyya takes its name from one of the most famous Sufi scholars who lived in Gaza, Ahmad Al-Badawi (1199-1276). The Ahmadiyya order is one of the most famous Sufi orders, with adepts scattered around the world, including 2,300 in the Palestinian territories and 100 in the Gaza Strip.

Many historical sources report that the Mamluk governor of Gaza, Tarantai Al-Jokandar, in cooperation with Badawi’s followers, built the Zawiya Al-Ahmadiyya east of Gaza City in 1336. But the site suffered serious damages and cracks in the walls and ceiling over the years and the restoration operations carried out by non-specialists have sometimes made the situation worse. The Iwan Center for Cultural Heritage at the faculty of engineering at the Islamic University announced in May that it received a grant from the British Barakat Trust to restore the site. A team of specialists affiliated with the centre started work on 19 June.
Full report on the Al-Monitor site