Chechnyan President opens new $10m mosque in Israel

At inauguration of new mosque, Mayor of Arab Israeli town of Abu Ghosh, outside of Jerusalem, tells president of Chechnya that some of the villagers can trace their ancestry to 16th century Chechnya & the Caucas region.

 

 

The president of Russia’s republic of Chechnya has inaugurated a new, $10 million mosque in an Arab village in Israel.

Residents of the Arab Israeli town of Abu Ghosh wave the Chechen flag

Residents of the Arab Israeli town of Abu Ghosh wave the Chechen flag during the dedication ceremony the new Akhmad Kadyrov mosque, on March 23 2014.- Photo: AFP

Ramzan Kadyrov said on Sunday that it was an honor to visit “this good and holy land” during a stop in the village of Abu Ghosh.

Isa Jabar, the village’s mayor, says Chechnya donated $6 million for the mosque. He says some villagers trace their ancestry to 16th century Chechnya and the Caucus region.

The mosque was built in the Ottoman Turkish style, the favored architectural style in Chechnya. It features four minarets, making it the only mosque of its kind in Israel.

Abu Ghosh, near Jerusalem, enjoys good ties with its Jewish neighbors and is a popular culinary destination for Israelis.

Traditionally it is believed that the residents of Abu Ghosh trace their ancestry to the Caucasus region. According to Palestinian-born historian Aref Al-Aref, the first villagers came from a region called Ingusha, located between Chechnya and Georgia. They arrived here as soldiers in the army of Ottoman Sultan Selim I, who conquered Palestine in 1516. The name Abu Gosh, according to geographer and place names expert Yehuda Ziv, is a corruption of the name Ingush.

 

View original HAARETZ publication at: http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/1.581478