Minbar

Minbar in the Ortaköy mosque in Istanbul.

A minbar (also called mimbar sometimes, Arabic: منبر) is a special place in a mosque. It is used by the Imam to speak to the congregation, to deliver sermons. Usually, minbars are raised (to be higher than the crowd, much like pulpits); These sermons are usually called khutbah ( خطبه ). In a minbar, the speaker is standing while he is giving the lecture. An alternative to this is to have a Hussainia where the speaker can sit down while giving the lecture.

Very often, the minbar is shaped like a small tower. The minbar is located to the right of the mihrab, the niche that indicates the direction of prayer (i.e. towards Mecca).

Minbar Media

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  Ottoman-era minbar of the Molla Çelebi Mosque in Istanbul.

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  The minbar of the Great Mosque of Kairouan in Kairouan, Tunisia, the oldest minbar in existence, still in its original location in the prayer hall of the mosque. (Photograph from the 19th century, before a modern protective glass barrier was installed)

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  The Minbar of Saladin in the al-Aqsa mosque, Jerusalem (photograph from 1930s); the minbar was built on Nur al-Din's orders in 1168-69 but installed here by Saladin in 1187

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  Stone minbar of the Jama Masjid in Mandu, India (15th century)

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  Details of geometric motifs and inlay work on the Minbar of al-Ghamri at the Khanqah of Sultan Barsbay, Cairo (15th century)