Alij village mosque

Alıc village mosque or Muradqulu mosque — a mosque built in 1719 in the village of Alıc, Quba district. It was included in the list of locally significant immovable historical and cultural monuments by decision No. 132 of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated 2 August 2001.

Early years

Alıc village mosque was built in 1719 in Alıc village. The building of the mosque has a rectangular shape and is made of raw brick. Its small window is assembled with a lattice.

Above the mosque door there is a plaque worked in incised line. The beginning of the Arabic inscription is located on the right side of the door. The plaque reads:

The remaining four lines of the plaque are located on the left side of the door. There it says:

As seen from the plaque, the mosque door was made at the expense of Pir Hüseyn’s son Muradqulu. The plaque helps to determine the date of the monument. Hijri year 1131 corresponds to 20 May‑18 June 1719. The plaque also reveals that the door was crafted by two carving masters from Quba city.

After the Soviet occupation

After the Soviet occupation, in 1928 they officially began the struggle against religion in Azerbaijan. Many mosques, churches and synagogues were handed over to clubs for educational purposes. If there were 3,000 mosques in Azerbaijan in 1917, the number was 1,700 in 1927, 1,369 in 1928, and 17 in 1933. The Alıc village mosque also ceased its activity during this period and the mosque building was used as a warehouse.

After the restoration of Azerbaijan’s independence the mosque was returned to the use of believers. By decision No. 132 of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated 2 August 2001, the mosque was included in the list of locally significant immovable historical and cultural monuments.

It is currently in a ruined condition.