Shrine of Husayn's Head

Shrine of Husayn's Head in 1943
The shrine during the annual festival

The Shrine of Husayn's Head (Arabic: مشْهد ٱلحُسَين, romanized: Mašhad al-Ḥusayn, lit. 'Mausoleum of Husayn') was a shrine built by the Fatimids on a hilltop adjacent to Ascalon that was reputed to have held the head of Husayn ibn Ali between c. 906 CE and 1153 CE.[1] It was described as the most magnificent building in the ancient city,[2][3] and developed into the most important and holiest Shi'a site in Palestine.[4]

In modern times, it became associated with the Palestinian town of Al-Jura, which sat alongside the ruined citadel of Ascalon.[5] The shrine was destroyed in 1950 by the Israeli army, more than a year after hostilities ended, on the orders of Moshe Dayan. This was in accordance with a 1950s Israeli policy of erasing Muslim historical sites within Israel,[6] and in line with efforts to expel the remaining Palestinian Arabs from the region.[1]

  1. ^ a b Talmon-Heller, Kedar & Reiter 2016.
  2. ^ Gil, Moshe (1997) [1983]. A History of Palestine, 634–1099. Translated by Ethel Broido. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 193–194. ISBN 0-521-59984-9.
  3. ^ Petersen 2017, pp. 108–110.
  4. ^ Petersen 2017, p. 108.
  5. ^ Talmon-Heller 2020, p. 101–111.
  6. ^ Meron Rapoport, 'History Erased,' Haaretz, 5 July 2007.