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 archaeology
People attend the inauguration of Mukheitim archaeological site, which houses the remnants of a Byzantine church, in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on Jan. 24, 2022. - MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images
Ahmad Abu Amer.jpg
Ahmad Abu Amer
@ahmedmajd1

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.

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