A CALL has gone out to open a historic mosque in Muharraq to people of all faiths seeking divine
blessings.
Residents from across the country, particularly Christians, visit the Al Rahib Mosque in Dair, a Bahraini village known for its early links to Christian heritage.
However, councillors have claimed that most of them return disappointed as they find the mosque locked, except during prayer times.
The area where the mosque is located is currently registered as Block 232 in government books, but is more popularly known among locals as Fareej Al Rahib – which means ‘neighbourhood of the monk’. It is located in an area once inhabited by Christians. In fact, the name Dair is the Arabic word for ‘monastery’.
The Muharraq Municipal Council in June 2019 acknowledged the ancient neighbourhood in the governorate by voting unanimously to have its old Christian name recognised on official records. The decision was referred to the government for review, however, no action has since been taken.
Now, councillors want the Jaffari Waqf Directorate to open the mosque to visitors every day – from morning until night. They have also suggested an open house at the venue so that the rich history of the mosque and the surrounding areas could be showcased to
visitors.
“When Bahrain was a protectorate under the UK, Christians visited the mosque in the village in large numbers to seek blessings,” said area councillor and council services and public utilities committee chairman Fadhel Al Oud.
“After the country became independent, during the 1970s and 1980s, people from other nationalities also started coming to Dair – notably Fareej Al Rahib,” he added.
“However, in the 1990s the numbers shrunk significantly and only Bahrainis came to seek blessings, with a few expatriates visiting occasionally.
“As time passed and with less public attention, the historic value of the neighbourhood started to decline and the venue was almost forgotten, because the main attraction at the site – the mosque – was open to visitors only at prayer times.
“Mosques and other places of worship were then shut down after the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020, but things have returned back to normal, and Al Rahib Mosque can now easily attract a lot of interested people.”
Mr Al Oud said opening the mosque to all visitors could also lead to more donors coming forward to pay for its maintenance, renovations and
cleaning.
“There are a lot of people who want to seek the blessings of Virgin Mary and they only want to do it at the Al Rahib mosque,” he said.
“But the timings are not suitable and this is why we want the Jaffari Waqf Directorate to open the place at all times. The Shaikh Aziz Mosque in Sehla and Amir Zaid Mosque in Malkiya attract visitors from across the Gulf on a daily basis.
“Permissions for donations and candlelit prayers are also in the process with the relevant authorities, but they would be only confined to safe and secure corners.”
Official government records state that many people living in Bahrain adopted Christianity in the third or fourth centuries, with Nestorian Church records showing the country was an established seat of its religion.
However, in 640AD Prophet Mohammed wrote to the ruler of Bahrain and encouraged him to adopt Islam.
The late historian Dr Ali Hilal told the GDN in 2013 that more should be done to preserve Bahrain’s forgotten Christian heritage. He had speculated that artefacts containing vital information about the country during that period could be hidden beneath Dair – and proposed an archaeological excavation before further urbanisation destroyed any trace.
The historic aspect of this mosque, as we know, is that the Eastern Orthodox Church was headquartered in Samaheej, but later there was a separatist movement and one of the monks left for Galali and the other to this area.
Famous Bahraini historian and researcher Hassan Al Wardi told the GDN that the government should work to protect the uniqueness of the area, which is the only available proof of its Christian heritage.
“In the past, visitors have said that a Christian Saint, Father Tobias, was buried under the mosque and some others believe he is buried under the adjacent car park area. No excavations have been ever made,” he added.
“It would be great to restore life to the mosque while simultaneously preserving its historic origins as a church.”
mohammed@gdnmedia.bh
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