From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the type of pulpit. For the Bahraini political organizations, see Al Menbar. For for the fictional planet from the Babylon 5 setting, see Minbar (planet).
Minbar in the Ortaköy mosque in
Istanbul.
A minbar (Arabic: منبر, also spelt mimbar) is a pulpit in the mosque where the Imam (leader of prayer) stands to deliver sermons (khutbah خطبه ). The minbar is usually shaped like a small tower with a pointed roof and stairs leading up to it. It is often richly ornamented, though in its simplest form the minbar is just a small platform with only a few steps. The minbar is located to the right of the mihrab, the niche that indicates the direction of prayer (i.e. towards Mecca).
In some mosques there is a platform (müezzin mahfili in Turkish) opposite the minbar. That is the place of the assistant of the Imam, the muezzin, stands during prayer. The muezzin recites the answer to the prayer of the Imam. This feature is the Islamic equivalent of the pulpit found in Christian Churches.
