| Submit your comments on this article |
| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Chechnya funding largest mosque in Israel |
| 2013-05-27 |
| Chechnya's government is constructing one of the largest mosques in Israel in the village of Abu Ghosh, near Jerusalem, in a project that both the villagers and the Chechen president see as renewing ties severed 500 years ago. Construction of the mosque, near the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway, began four years ago, at the private initiative of residents who had raised funds. However, work had to stop when those funds ran out. Through the mediation of a Chechen-born Jew, the villagers established ties with the Chechen government, which agreed to contribute more than $2 million to build the mosque as well as another $1 million to upgrade the approach road, says village council head Salim Jaber. Jaber and other village officials made the deal during a visit to Chechnya two years ago. Today the building, about 4,000 square meters in area, is almost complete. A recent decision calls for the erection of four minarets, as is customary in the Caucasus area. The road already has two symbolic turrets, built by Chechen experts. Abu Ghosh is one of the only Arab villages outside Jerusalem to have emerged from the 1948 War of Independence unscathed, due mainly to the residents' cooperation with Israeli forces. Today, Jewish Israelis flock to the village on weekends to enjoy Abu Ghosh's well-known hummus and other culinary offerings. Traditionally it is believed that the residents of Abu Ghosh trace their ancestry to the Caucasus region. According to Palestinian historian Aref Al-Aref, the first villagers came from a region called Ingusha, located between Chechnya and Georgia. They arrived here as soldiers in the army of Ottoman Sultan Selim I, who conquered Palestine in 1516. The name Abu Gosh, according to geographer and place names expert Yehuda Ziv, is a corruption of the name Ingush. Village council leader Jaber said, “We always knew we had come from the Caucasian mountains. We welcome the renewed connection." |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #3 "Disposable income?" Plenty, as hitmen for Pooty Poot Poutine worldwide, like the Calabrese N'Drangheta act as hitmen for the Sicilian Mafia in America... Boston bombing give you any ideas? |
| Posted by: Pliny the Cheap6130 2013-05-27 20:44 |
| #2 Cuz Chechnya has so much disposable income....rrright |
| Posted by: Frank G 2013-05-27 18:19 |
| #1 Camel, meet tent flap. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2013-05-27 18:04 |