Atiq Mosque
The oldest mosque in Gondar — a living record of faith, community, and endurance that stretches back before Emperor Tewodros II first took the throne.
Introduction
The history recorded below was gathered from a number of connected accounts, from written records, and from the testimony of respected elders and past leaders of the mosque. Among the elders we spoke with was Ato Fentie Getahun, who, when asked about his age and early life, explained that he was born in the very neighborhood surrounding the mosque during the reign of Emperor Menelik II. It is largely from his recollections that we have been able to piece together the mosque's long history and the generations that passed through it.
Another key source was Sheikh Jibril Mustofa, who arrived in Gondar from abroad by way of Sudan during the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie. He served the mosque for decades as its imam, as the one who called the adhan, and as the qadi — the recognized religious leader — of the local Muslim community, living to be over ninety years old. Beyond these two, many other administrators and community elders also shared what they knew of the mosque's founding and history, and it is from all of these threads, woven together, that this account is drawn.
Meaning of the NameAn Ancient Landmark in Gondar
Atiq Mosque, located in Kebele 14 of the city of Gondar, is counted among the oldest mosques in the city. Its very name explains why: "Atiq" is an Arabic word meaning "ancient" or "old." The mosque carries this name because of its long history and the depth of years behind it. According to the accounts gathered from elders and community records, the mosque was already standing before the reign of Emperor Tewodros II — older, in other words, than most people's picture of Ethiopia's modern imperial era. Below, its history is presented period by period, along with the evidence behind each account.
Before the Reign of Emperor Tewodros II
A renowned Islamic scholar known across several countries for his depth of religious knowledge, Haji Ali Musa — known to the people of Gondar simply as Haji Ali Gondar — completed his Islamic studies abroad and, on his way home, passed through Sudan to visit his close friend Sheikh Mohammed Aman in Debarq, northern Ethiopia. Sheikh Mohammed Aman encouraged him to travel on to Gondar itself, to teach the Muslim community there and settle among the people. Haji Ali Gondar arrived in Gondar many years before Emperor Tewodros II came to power.
His arrival was not welcomed by everyone; some Muslim elders and scholars were unhappy about it, and tensions arose. To reconcile the matter, Sheikh Mohammed Aman himself traveled from the north to Gondar, and it was at Atiq Mosque that he stayed during this visit — telling us the mosque was already standing at that time, and had been established even earlier still. After helping reconcile the community, he returned home.
Haji Ali Gondar remained in Gondar, settling in the Addis Alem area where most of the Muslim community lived. There he taught the people, led them in prayer, married, and raised a family — all before Emperor Tewodros II eventually ascended to the throne.
After 1889 E.C.After the Reign of Emperor Menelik II
Not long after Emperor Menelik II's coronation, a man named Getahun Ali arrived in Gondar from Shedeho and settled around the mosque. At that time he found it with a thatched grass roof and stone walls. He went on to raise many children in the area, and his descendants still live around the mosque today — a large share of the current Muslim residents trace their lineage back to him.
After 1913 E.C.After the Reign of Lij Iyasu
During the reigns of Lij Iyasu and later Empress Zewditu, the community included Getahun Ali's own children — Fentie, Abdulkadir, Usman, and Yilma Getahun — along with Aman Desta, Sheikh Yusuf, Seid Aynenh, Sheikh Abdulkadir, Biadgilign, Berihun Gelaw, Fentafilate, Sheikh Mudesir, and Engidaw Bishir. By this period the structure had aged and begun to collapse, so the community renovated it to keep it usable. Elders recall the surrounding area was still thickly forested, with hyenas common enough to concern local residents.
From 1931 E.C.After the Reign of Haile Selassie
From this reign onward, the mosque was administered and led by Sheikh Jibril Mustofa, whose deep religious knowledge guided the community for decades, alongside Aman Desta, Engidaw Bishir, Getahun Desta, Ibrahim Desta, Abokir Fentie, and Mohammed Habib (Sheikh Lemdo). Toward the end of Haile Selassie's reign, this group oversaw a major renovation, bringing timber from Amba Giorgis and rebuilding with part stone, part wood.
Mohammed Habib — Sheikh Lemdo — arrived from abroad toward the end of this era and made Atiq Mosque both his residence and his base. Widely regarded as a devout scholar, he drew visitors from across Gondar and the wider region who came to see him and take part in prayer and supplication. This influx of visitors is what created the momentum for the mosque's renovation.
1960 – 1982 E.C.Late Haile Selassie Era and the Derg
Through the final years of Haile Selassie's reign and the Derg period, the elders above — together with new families who settled nearby and took up its administration — continued to lead the community. Among them: Ato Werqu Hussein, Alimuz Ahmed, Sherefedin Muqri, Ahmed Geta, Estatawu Fentie, Asres Mohammed, Adem Abdu, and Berihun Adem. This group also carried out renovations.
1983 E.C. – PresentThe EPRDF Era
Under EPRDF, the same elders continued to serve. As the aging mosque again began to deteriorate, and its plot proved too small, the community proposed rebuilding it in a modern, multi-story design. Gondar's municipal Land Administration and Planning Office was asked to prepare the plan; the North Gondar Zone Islamic Affairs Council was asked to write a letter of support to help raise funds; and committees were formed to organize the fundraising.
The municipal office completed the plan, and the Council issued its support letter under reference Go/K/W/As 2/487/97. Once the committees had gathered sufficient funds, construction began in 1997 E.C. and was completed in 2003 E.C.
Conclusion
Taken as a whole, the mosque's history tells us it existed well before Emperor Tewodros II's reign. God willing, we hope in the future to research the generations before that era more deeply and present a fuller account, together with the evidence supporting it.
We close with a prayer: may Allah reward everyone who has cared for this mosque over the generations — those who led prayers within its walls, called the adhan, administered it, and contributed to it in any way.
All praise is due to Allah!
መግቢያ
ከዚህ በታች የመስጊዲቷን ታሪክ የፃፍነው ከተለያዩ ተዛማች ታሪኮች፣ ከመፅሐፎች፣ ከባላባቶችና ከመስጊድ መሪ ከነበሩት አውጥተን ነው። ከባላባቶች ውስጥ አንዱ የሆኑት አቶ ፈንቴ ጌታሁንን አግኝተን ስለ እድሜያቸው ስናናግራቸው፣ በአፄ ምኒልክ ዘመን በዚህች መስጊድ አካባቢ እንደተወለዱ ገልጸውልናል። ከዚህ በታች ያለውን የመስጊዲቷን ታሪክና ያለፉ ትውልዶችን የነገሩን እሳቸው ናቸው።
ሌላኛው የመስጊዱን ታሪክ የነገሩን ደግሞ ከሌላ ሀገር ወደ ጎንደር በኃይለ ሥላሴ ዘመነ መንግሥት የመጡት ሸኽ ጅብሪል ሙስጦፋ ናቸው። እሳቸውም የመስጊዲቷ አሰጋጅ፣ አዛን አድራጊና የአካባቢው ሙስሊም ማህበረሰብ ቃዲ በመሆን እስካሁን ድረስ ያገለገሉ ሲሆን፣ ዕድሜያቸውም ከዘጠና ዓመት በላይ ነው። ከእነዚህ ሌላም ብዙ የመስጊድ አስተዳዳሪዎችና ባላባቶች ስለ መስጊዲቷ አመሠራረት ታሪክ ገልጸውልናል።
የስሙ ትርጉምጥንታዊነቷ
በጎንደር ከተማ በቀበሌ 14 ውስጥ የሚገኘው መስጂደል አቲቅ ጥንታዊ ከሚባሉት የጎንደር መስጂዶች አንዱ ነው። ከስሙ ስንነሳ "አቲቅ" ማለት ጥንታዊ ማለት ነው። መስጊዱ ከዳግማዊ አፄ ቴዎድሮስ ስርወ መንግሥት በስተፊት እንደተቆረቆረ የሚያመለክቱ የተለያዩ መረጃዎችና ታሪኮች አሉት።
ከዳግማዊ አፄ ቴዎድሮስ መንገሥ በስተፊት
በተለያዩ የዓለም ሀገራት በእስልምና ሃይማኖት ዕውቀታቸው የሚታወቁት ሐጂ አሊ ሙሳ፣ ወይም ሐጂ አሊ ጎንደር፣ ከውጭ ሀገር የተለያዩ የእስልምና ትምህርቶችን ከተማሩ በኋላ ወደ ሀገራቸው ሲመለሱ በሱዳን አድርገው ወደ ወዳጃቸው ሸኽ ሙሐመድ አማን በደባርቅ መጡ። ሸኽ ሙሐመድ አማን ሐጂ አሊ ጎንደርን ወደ ጎንደር ከተማ እንዲሄዱ አዟቸው ላኩ። ሐጂ አሊ ጎንደርም ዳግማዊ አፄ ቴዎድሮስ ከመንገሥ ከብዙ ዓመታት በስተፊት ወደ ጎንደር መጡ።
ወደ ጎንደር ሲመጡ ግን አንዳንድ የሙስሊም ባላባቶችና ምሁራን በመምጣታቸው ደስተኛ አልነበሩም። እሳቸውን ለማስማማት ሲባል ሸኽ ሙሐመድ አማን ከስሜን ወደ ጎንደር መጡ፤ ማረፊያ ያደረጉትም መስጂደል አቲቅን ነው — ይህም መስጊዱ በዚያን ወቅት እንደነበረና ከዚያም በፊት እንደተቆረቆረ ያመለክታል።
ሐጂ አሊ ጎንደር በአዲስ ዓለም አካባቢ ማስተማርን ቀጠሉ፤ ሚስት አግብተው ልጅም ወልደው ኖሩ፤ ከረዥም ጊዜም በኋላ ዳግማዊ አፄ ቴዎድሮስ ሥልጣናቸውን ያዙ።
ከ1889 ዓ.ም በኋላከዳግማዊ አፄ ምኒልክ መንገሥ በኋላ
ዳግማዊ አፄ ምኒልክ ከነገሱ ከጥቂት ጊዜያት በኋላ፣ ጌታሁን አሊ ከሸደሆ ወደ ጎንደር መጥቶ ያረፈው በመስጊዱ አካባቢ ነው። በዚያን ወቅት ጣራዋ ሣር ሲሆን ግድግዳዋ በድንጋይ የተሠራ ነበር። እሱም ብዙ ልጆችን ወልዷል፤ የሱም ዘሮች እስከ አሁን ድረስ በአካባቢው ይገኛሉ።
ከ1913 ዓ.ም በኋላከልጅ እያሱ መንገሥ በኋላ
በልጅ እያሱና በንግሥት ዘውዲቱ ዘመን ከነበሩት መካከል የጌታሁን አሊ ልጆች ፈንቴ፣ አብዱልቃድር፣ ኡስማንና ይልማ ጌታሁን ይገኙበታል፤ እንዲሁም አማን ደስታ፣ ሸኽ ዩሱፍ፣ ሰይድ አይነነህ፣ ሸኽ አብዱልቃድር፣ ቢያድግልኝ፣ በሪሁን ገላው፣ ፈንታፍላቴ፣ ሸኽ ሙደሲርና እንግዳው በሽር ይጠቀሳሉ። መስጊዷ በርጅትና በተጣለች ስለነበር ማህበረሰቡ እድሳት አድርጎላታል። አካባቢው ጫካ የተሞላ ስለነበርም ጅብ ማህበረሰቡን ያስቸግር ነበር።
ከ1931 ዓ.ም ጀምሮከኃይለ ሥላሴ መንገሥ በኋላ
ከዚህ ዘመን ጀምሮ መስጊዷን ሲያስተዳድሩ የነበሩት ሸኽ ጅብሪል ሙስጦፋ ሲሆኑ፣ ከሳቸው ጋር አማን ደስታ፣ እንግዳው በሽር፣ ጌታሁን ደስታ፣ ኢብራሂም ደስታ፣ አቦክር ፈንቴ እና ሙሐመድ ሀቢብ (ሸኽ ለምዶ) ይገኙበታል። ዘመኑ መጨረሻ ላይ ከአምባ ጊዮርጊስ እንጨት አስመጥተው ግማሹን በግንብ ግማሹን በእንጨት ገንብተዋታል።
ሙሐመድ ሀቢብ (ሸኽ ለምዶ) ማረፊያቸውንና መኖሪያቸውን ያደረጉት መስጂደል አቲቅ ነበር። ታላቅ ዓሊም ስለነበሩ፣ ብዙ ሕዝብ እሳቸውን ለመዘየርና ዱዓ ለማድረግ ወደ መስጊዲቷ ይመጡ ነበር — ይህም መስጊዲቷ እንድትታደስ ምክንያት ሆኗል።
1960 – 1982 ዓ.ምየኃይለ ሥላሴ መጨረሻና የደርግ ዘመን
በዚህ ዘመን ከላይ የተጠቀሱት ባላባቶችና አዳዲስ የሰፈሩ ቤተሰቦች መስጊዷን አስተዳድረዋል፤ ከእነዚህ መካከል አቶ ወርቁ ሁሴን፣ አሊሙዝ አህመድ፣ ሸረፈዲን ሙቅሪ፣ አህመድ ጌታ፣ ስጦታው ፈንቴ፣ አስረስ ሙሐመድ፣ አደም አብዱ እና በሪሁን አደም ይጠቀሳሉ። ይህ ቡድንም መስጊዲቷን አድሷል።
የኢሕአዴግ ዘመን
መስጊዱ በርጅት ምክንያት እንደገና ስለፈራረሰ፣ ማህበረሰቡ በዘመናዊ የፎቅ ፕላን እንዲገነባ ሐሳብ አቀረበ። ለጎንደር ማዘጋጃ ቤት ፕላን ተጠየቀ፤ ለሰሜን ጎንደር ዞን የእስልምና ጉዳዮች ምክር ቤት የድጋፍ ደብዳቤ ተጠየቀ፤ ገንዘብ ማሰባሰቢያ ኮሚቴዎችም ተመረጡ።
ማዘጋጃ ቤቱ ፕላኑን ሠርቶ ሰጠ፤ ምክር ቤቱም በቁጥር ጎ/ከ/ወ/አሰ 2/487/97 ደብዳቤ ጻፈ። ግንባታው በ1997 ዓ.ም ተጀምሮ በ2003 ዓ.ም ተጠናቀቀ።
ማጠቃለያ
በአጠቃላይ መስጊዲቷ ከዳግማዊ አፄ ቴዎድሮስ መንገሥ በስተፊት እንደነበረችና እንደተቆረቆረች እንረዳለን። እኛም ኢንሻአላህ ወደፊት በስፋት አጥንተን ከማስረጃው ጋር እናቀርባለን።
በመጨረሻም መስጊዲቷን ይዘው ለቆዩ፣ ሲያሰግዱ፣ አዛን ሲያደርጉ፣ ሲያስተዳድሩና ላደረጉ ሁሉ አላህ ጀዛቸውን ይክፈላቸው።
ምስጋና ለአላህ ይገባው!!!
