The moon symbol on mosques
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I have been pondering why the Sunni mosques around me have the moon symbol on them. If a mosque is to worship a monotheistic God how can a moon symbol be on it? Is there any reference in Quran that would support this? How and why did the moon symbol become part of the mosque? When I checked the internet I found lots of Christian articles referring to the worship of Allah the "Moon" God. Before Prophet Mohammed's time, Arab/ Bedouin cultures worshipped a moon deity. Do we know if the Sacred Masjid had a moon symbol on it? Does the current Kaaba in Mecca have a moon symbol on it? Did Prophet Mohammed build any mosques that are still standing today? Do they have moon symbols on them? I feel disturbed when I see the moon symbol on the mosques because it seems to me a left over from moon idol worship.
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I have been pondering why the Sunni mosques around me have the moon symbol on them. If a mosque is to worship a monotheistic God how can a moon symbol be on it? Is there any reference in Quran that would support this? How and why did the moon symbol become part of the mosque? When I checked the internet I found lots of Christian articles referring to the worship of Allah the "Moon" God. Before Prophet Mohammed's time, Arab/ Bedouin cultures worshipped a moon deity. Do we know if the Sacred Masjid had a moon symbol on it? Does the current Kaaba in Mecca have a moon symbol on it? Did Prophet Mohammed build any mosques that are still standing today? Do they have moon symbols on them? I feel disturbed when I see the moon symbol on the mosques because it seems to me a left over from moon idol worship.
Salam,
The "crescent moon symbol was originally taken by Ottoman empire in 15th century, when they conquered Byzantium. I doubt, that this has to do something with moon worship.
http//www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran/Sources/Allah/moongod.html very great link. -
It's pagan
"The crescent moon and star symbol actually pre-dates Islam by several thousand years. Information on the origins of the symbol are difficult to ascertain, but most sources agree that these ancient celestial symbols were in use by the peoples of Central Asia and Siberia in their worship of sun, moon, and sky gods. There are also reports that the crescent moon and star were used to represent the Carthaginian goddess Tanit or the Greek goddess Diana.
The city of Byzantium (later known as Constantinople and Istanbul) adopted the crescent moon as its symbol. According to some reports, they chose it in honor of the goddess Diana. Others indicate that it dates back to a battle in which the Romans defeated the Goths on the first day of a lunar month. In any event, the crescent moon was featured on the city's flag even before the birth of Christ."
http//islam.about.com/od/history/a/crescent_moon.htm -
It may have been done so that people know what kind of a building it is. Churches have crosses, and from far one knows there is a church when one sees a tower with a cross. What is said about the Otoman empire where in fact there were many christians with their churches, may allow us to think that it was thought useful to put on mosques a distinguishing symbol to make known that the building is a mosque. I do not measure it any great importance and stetically, to me is nice, but I do not think it matters much. It is not like the cross, which is fundamental for christians. The crescent is just a nice shape for practical purposes and nothing more. It symbolises nothing religious, but just the kind of building that is underneath.
Salaam
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I'm not terribly upset by self-confessed muslims using the crescent moon/star as their logotype.
I get a little annoyed when it is done badly, i.e. in an astronomically impossible way. The crescent shape we see from earth during certain phases of the moon is a consequence of it being a sphere being lit from one angle and observed from another. It looks a certain way, not at all like the shape to be found on top of many a mosque and on many a flag, a shape which can only be seen during a partial solar eclipse - not a moon crescent at all in other words.
Another thing that irks me a bit is how moon-and-star "islamic" flags place the star/planet/whatever where it would be occluded by the unlit section of the moon, and therefore invisible.This is an example of the type of "bad astronomy" logotypes I'm talking about
http//i.imgur.com/2Mhbj.jpg
And the actual shape of the real thing (in case you forgot how it really looks)
http//i.imgur.com/R0F4w.jpg
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Peace
I just read this post from Kadeem in 2009, from postings on the topic the Name of God in Judaism (sorry I don't know how to make a link to it)Kadeem's post
I believe the Coptic Christians of Egypt still use the Kemetic(Coptic) word for god, which is a form of netjur or similar, cant recall.It doesnt mean they still worship an ancient Egyptian god.0 Also the correct Kemetic word for their moon god was Aah, not Yah. Thats a modern inovation.*** Also of interest is that the symbol of Aah was the crescent.*** my bold
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Peace
I just read this post from Kadeem in 2009, from postings on the topic the Name of God in Judaism (sorry I don't know how to make a link to it)Kadeem's post
I believe the Coptic Christians of Egypt still use the Kemetic(Coptic) word for god, which is a form of netjur or similar, cant recall.It doesnt mean they still worship an ancient Egyptian god.0 Also the correct Kemetic word for their moon god was Aah, not Yah. Thats a modern inovation.*** Also of interest is that the symbol of Aah was the crescent.*** my bold
Living in Egypt and with Coptic neighbours and friends I can confirm that they call God Allah, as do any other Arabic speakers! Allah is Arabic for God (English), Deus (Latin?), Gott (German), etc