White Mosque of Ramle
| White Mosque | |
|---|---|
| |
The minaret, a remnant of the mosque, in 2006 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Islam (former) |
| Ecclesiastical or organisational status | Mosque (former) |
| Status | Inactive; (partial ruins) |
| Location | |
| Location | Ramla, Central District |
| Country | Israel |
Location of the former mosque in central Israel | |
Interactive map of White Mosque | |
| Coordinates | 31°55′39″N 34°51′58″E / 31.92750°N 34.86611°E |
| Architecture | |
| Architect | Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz |
| Type | Mosque architecture |
| Style | |
| Completed | |
| Specifications | |
| Dome | One |
| Minaret | One |
| Minaret height | 27 m (89 ft) |
| Shrine | One: Salih (destroyed) |
| Materials | Marble; cypress; cedar |
The White Mosque (Arabic: المسجد الأبيض, romanized: al-Masjid al-Abyad; Hebrew: המסגד הלבן, romanized: HaMisgad HaLavan) was an Umayyad-era mosque, now in partial ruins, located in Ramle, in central Israel. Only its minaret is still standing. According to local Islamic tradition, the northwestern section of the mosque contained the shrine of an Islamic prophet, Salih.
The minaret is also known as the Tower of the Forty Martyrs. Islamic tradition dating from 1467 CE claims that forty companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad were buried at the mosque, which influenced an erroneous Western Christian tradition from the 16th century that the White Mosque was originally a church dedicated to the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste.
In 2000, the mosque site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.