THE UMAYYAD MOSQUE OF DAMASCUS:
Art, Faith and Empire in Early Islam
By Alain George
Gingko. 264 pages. £60
ISBN 978 1 909 942 455
Christians are often surprised to learn that Muslims believe in Christ’s second coming.
Muslims say they know to where Jesus will return – Damascus, specifically, the Minaret of Jesus on the Umayyad Mosque, as Alain George observes in his excellent book A tradition… in the compilation by Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj (d. 261/875). George, however, notes that ‘the Arabic phrasing points to the east gate of Damascus rather than that of the mosque…’
