Amr Ibn Al-Aas

Amr Ibn Al-Aas. Amr ibn Al-Aas and the Islamic History of Egypt. Islam occurred in Egypt and the complete Continent of Africa in 640AD with General Amr ibn Al-Aas of the Rashidan Islamic Caliphate. Being only several decades old at this time and extending rapidly with the impact of the Rashidan Caliphate, which had been created following the death of the Phrophet Mohammed in 632 AD, in this time Coptic Christianity had recently transcended the Religion of Ancient Egypt to become the controlling Religion. The Muslim Army in 640AD laid siege to the Roman Fort of Babylon, the ruins of which remain still in Coptic Cairo. Following the defeat of the Fort Amr ibn Al-Aas marched to Alexandria in 641AD eventually driving the City to concede after a long siege and leaving Egypt in the hands of the Muslim conquerors. How was the Islamic Rule under Amr ibn Al-Aas. With the command from Caliph Umar in the Muslim Capital of Medina , Egyptian Christians were looked after very well under their new rulers, made to pay a poll tax in trade for exclusion from Military Service and the right to exercise their Religion a structure that had been usual practice under the Persian, Roman and Byzantine Empires that had ruled before in Egypt. Under the Byzantine rule Emperor Diocletian persecuted Christians and he made 3 new decrees stating that if the Christians refused to deny their Christianity, he would imprison Bishops, torture them, and then execute them. This is why a significant number of Egyptian Copts welcomed the conquest of the Muslims. One of the most important person’s in the History of Egypt was Amr ibn Al-Aas because he initiated Islam into the Country, also he founded a new City North of the Roman Fort of Babylon which was called Fustat. To the present day the Mosque of Amr ibn Al-Aas still indicates the site of the City.Still being the site of the oldest Mosque in Egypt and throughout the continent of Africa, it has been refurbished a few times but none of the original structure is still around. Amr Ibn Al-Aas Mosque in Egypt. Having apprehended Alexandria the Muslim Army took control over Egypt, but word from the Caliph Amr ibn-Khattab in Medina said they should initiate a new Caoital nearer to Medina, After taking note of the Omen of the Dove Amr ibn Al-Aas constructed a Mosque at the site where his Tent had been placed and became the Centre of the new Muslim Capital of Egypt known as Fustat. The Mosque was named after the General which was founded in 642 AD which became the first Mosque in Africa. The original construction of the Mosque of Amr ibn Al-Aas used palm trunks and mud bricks and leaves from the palm for the roof, so of course none of the original features remain. The first gallery of Columns were constructed in 827, which gave it a permanent form which has since been expanded. Only a few remain of the original architraves and can be seen along the Southern Wall of the Mosque,