Haji Jafar Mosque
The Haji Jafar Mosque is a Shia Islam mosque and historical architectural monument located in the city of Guba, Azerbaijan.
Completed in 1905, the former mosque and monument was included in the list of nationally significant immovable historical and cultural monuments by the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan on August 2, 2001, under decree number 132.
About
The Haji Jafar Mosque was constructed in 1905 in the center of Guba city. It is the largest mosque in the city, covering an area of. The mosque is named after Haji Jafar, who is believed to have been its builder.As per the accounts of the city's elders, during the Guba massacre, Armenian forces intended to gather the elderly, women, and children in this mosque with the horrific intention of burning them alive. At that dire moment, the mosque's muezzin, Haji Baba, courageously intervened and prevented this terrible act. Haji Baba took in orphaned Armenian girls, raising them as if they were his own daughters, and ensured their safety. He then reported this to the Armenians, telling them that they were caring for their daughters as their own children. As a result, the Armenians abandoned their plan to burn people alive.
Soviet occupation
Following the Soviet occupation, in 1928, an official campaign against religion began. In December of that year, the Azerbaijan Communist Party Central Committee transferred many mosques, churches, and synagogues to the balance of clubs for educational purposes. If there were approximately 3,000 mosques in Azerbaijan in 1917, by 1927, that number had reduced to 1,700, and by 1933, it had further decreased to only 17.After the occupation, the mosque was closed, and in the 1930s, the dome of the mosque was dismantled. In the early years, it was used as a student dormitory, but later, it was repurposed as a storage facility. Subsequently, the dome was restored in 1943.