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The most common name for the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in classical arabic sources is the Church of Refuse, or garbage (Kanisat al Qumamah). the geographer al- idrisi (493-559 aH, 1099-1165 or 1166 CE) gives us the following description for the Jerusalem Haram:
At the northern end we find the gate known as the Crow's Pillar ('amud al Ghurab). if one enters [the area] from the Mihrab Gate, which is the western entrance, one would head eastward down the alley leading to the Great Church, known as Church of the Resurrection (Kanisat al Qiyamah), and referred to by Muslims as the Church of Refuse (Qumamah).1 Clearly then Muslims referred to the Sepulcher as Kanisat Qumamah (with or without the definite article al). Yaqut al Hamawi (574-626 aH, 1179-1229 CE) adds the following: "Qumamah: the greatest church for Christians, endowed with unparalleled beauty, wealth and design. it is located at the center of the city, surrounded by a wall. inside the church is a tomb, which is called 'resurrection' (Qiyamah), because it is believed that the Messiah rose up from there. But in fact its [actual] name is qumamah ('garbage')."2 the further we go back in time the less frequently the term Church of the Resurrection (qiyamah) occurs until it disappears altogether while the term qumamah gains ascendency. the great author and essayist al Jahiz who lived in the eighth century CE (159-255 aH), refers to the place exclusively as Qumamah.
The Conjuring Fire: Monks in the church perform all sorts of tricks - such as the appearance of the oil in the lamps burning during the night of their festivals without being lit.3
Elsewhere he also refers to how "many Christians are mesmerized by the oil lamps of the Qumamah Church [suddenly burning without being lit]. this is especially true of older Christian women".4
There are two explanations for this naming anomaly: the first is that the term is an intentional arabic distortion of the original name, meant as an expression of contempt and denigration towards Christians and their shrines. this explanation is widely diffused in popular culture, as we note in the following source from the Web - "it was a common manner of insulting Christians to refer to the Church of...