Gaza university receives British grant to restore old Sufi building
The Iwan Center for Cultural Heritage at the Islamic University has started a project to restore the 700-year-old Zawiya Al-Ahmadiyya in Gaza’s Old City, one of the few remaining buildings belonging to Sufism and dating back to the Mamluk era.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The 700-year-old Zawiya Al-Ahmadiyya, the oldest Mamluk religious building in the Gaza Strip, is currently being restored.
Zawia is the Arabic term for a Sufi institute. Zawiya Al-Ahmadiyya takes its name after one of the most famous Sufi scholars who lived in Gaza, Ahmed Al-Badawi (1199-1276). The Ahmadiyya order is one of the most famous Sufi orders, with adepts scattered around the world, including 2,300 in the Palestinian territories and 100 in the Gaza Strip.
