Editing Ashkelon (section)

==== Maqam al-Imam al-Husayn ====

An 11th-century mosque, [[Shrine of Husayn's Head|Maqam al-Imam al-Husayn]], a site of pilgrimage for both [[Sunni]] and [[Shia]] Muslims,<ref name=thesis/>{{rp|185–186}}<ref name=reuthusmash>{{Cite news|title=Prophet's grandson, Hussein, honored on the grounds of an Israeli hospital|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-religion-israel-shi-ite/prophets-grandson-hussein-honored-on-grounds-of-israeli-hospital-idUSKBN0LD17720150209|access-date=12 May 2020|date=9 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200512092013/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-religion-israel-shi-ite/prophets-grandson-hussein-honored-on-grounds-of-israeli-hospital-idUSKBN0LD17720150209|archive-date=12 May 2020|author=Rami Amichay}}</ref><ref name=alarab>{{Cite news|title=أتباع البهرة الشيعية يذرفون الدمع على قبر للحسين في عسقلان |newspaper=Al-ʻArab |url=https://alarab.co.uk/%D8%A3%D8%AA%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%87%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%8A%D8%B9%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%8A%D8%B0%D8%B1%D9%81%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%85%D8%B9-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%89-%D9%82%D8%A8%D8%B1-%D9%84%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%B3%D9%8A%D9%86-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%B9%D8%B3%D9%82%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200531130930/https://alarab.co.uk/%D8%A3%D8%AA%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%87%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%8A%D8%B9%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%8A%D8%B0%D8%B1%D9%81%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%85%D8%B9-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%89-%D9%82%D8%A8%D8%B1-%D9%84%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%B3%D9%8A%D9%86-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%B9%D8%B3%D9%82%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86 |archive-date=31 May 2020 |access-date=31 May 2020 |date=11 February 2015 |trans-title=Shi'a Bohra followers shed tears at Hussein's grave in Ashkelon |language=ar |issn=0140-010X |issue=9825 |page=20 |via=alarab.co.uk}}</ref> which had been built by the [[Fatimid Caliphate]] by [[Badr al-Jamali]] and where tradition held that the head of Mohammad's grandson [[Hussein ibn Ali]] was buried, was blown up by the [[Israel Defense Forces]] under instructions from [[Moshe Dayan]] as part of a broader programme to destroy mosques in July 1950.<ref name="hist">Brief History of Transfer of the Sacred Head of Hussain ibn Ali, From Damascus to Ashkelon to Qahera By: Qazi Dr. Shaikh Abbas Borhany PhD (USA), NDI, Shahadat al A'alamiyyah (Najaf, Iraq), M.A., LLM (Shariah) Member, Ulama Council of Pakistan. Published in ''Daily News'', Karachi, Pakistan on 3 January 2009 [http://www.durrenajaf.com/upload/51310a3ca52c8.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171214142006/http://www.durrenajaf.com/upload/51310a3ca52c8.pdf|date=14 December 2017}}.</ref><ref name="haaretz1">[[Meron Rapoport]],  [http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/magazine/history-erased-1.224899 'History Erased,'] ''[[Haaretz]]'', 5 July 2007.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.asor.org/anetoday/2014/03/husseins-head-and-importance-of-cultural-heritage/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200517142125/https://www.asor.org/anetoday/2014/03/husseins-head-and-importance-of-cultural-heritage/|archive-date=17 May 2020|title=Hussein's Head and Importance of Cultural Heritage|work=American School of Oriental Research|author=Michael Press|date=March 2014|access-date=17 May 2020}}</ref> The area was subsequently redeveloped for a local Israeli hospital, [[Barzilai Medical Center|Barzilai]]. After the site was re-identified on the hospital grounds, funds from [[Mohammed Burhanuddin]], leader of a [[Dawoodi Bohra|Shi'a Ismaili]] sect based in India, were used to construct a small marble prayer platform, which is visited by Shi'ite pilgrims from India and Pakistan.<ref name=thesis>{{Cite journal|first1=Daniella|last1=Talmon-Heller|first2=Benjamin|last2=Kedar|first3=Yitzhak|last3=Reiter|date=Jan 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200512010853/https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Daniella_Talmon-Heller/publication/301537484_Vicissitudes_of_a_Holy_Place_Construction_Destruction_and_Commemoration_of_Mashhad_Husayn_in_Ascalon/links/5cddc4d492851c4eaba685d8/Vicissitudes-of-a-Holy-Place-Construction-Destruction-and-Commemoration-of-Mashhad-Husayn-in-Ascalon.pdf|archive-date=12 May 2020|title=Vicissitudes of a Holy Place: Construction, Destruction and Commemoration of Mashhad Ḥusayn in Ascalon|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301537484|journal=Der Islam|volume=93|doi=10.1515/islam-2016-0008|pages=11–13, 28–34}}</ref><ref name=alarab/><ref name="haaretz1"/><ref name="Shiites in Ashkelon">{{cite web|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2008/05/israel--surpris.html |title=Shiites in Ashkelon? |work=Los Angeles Times |date=20 May 2008 |access-date=2011-08-10}}</ref>

A domed structure housing the 13th-century tomb of Sheikh Awad sits atop a hill overlooking Ashkelon's northern beaches.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JXoY2vCZ5AEC&q=sheikh+awad+ashkelon&pg=PA117 |title=Israel and the Palestinian territories: The rough guide, Daniel Jacobs, Shirley Eber, Francesca Silvani |access-date=2011-08-10|isbn=978-1-85828-248-0 |last1=Jacobs |first1=Daniel |last2=Eber |first2=Shirley |last3=Silvani |first3=Francesca |year=1998 |publisher=Rough Guides }}</ref>