chapter 15
The Miracle of Muqattam
Moving a Mountain to Build a Church in Fatimid Egypt
Jennifer Pruitt
Beginning in the 1970s, a series of massive cave
churches were carved into the limestone cliffs of the
Muqattam Mountain in Cairo (Figures 15.1 and 15.2).
These churches marked the site of the tenth century,
Fatimid-era ‘Miracle of Muqattam.’ The story of the
miracle has different versions, but, as described in
the Coptic tradition, a Fatimid caliph of Egypt
became enraged by a Christian Biblical passage stat-
ing that mountains could be moved by faith alone
(Matthew 17:20). In response, he demanded that a
Coptic patriarch visibly demonstrate this claim of
the Christian faith by making the Muqattam
Mountain rise from the ground through prayer. After
arrangements were made, an amazed Muslim ruler
witnessed the mountain rise from the ground no less
than three times before his own eyes.1 As a result of
witnessing this miracle, the Fatimid ruler allowed
the medieval Christian population of Cairo to restore
two dilapidated churches in Cairo, the complex of St
Mercurius (Abu Sayfayn) and the Hanging Church
(Al-Muʿallaqah).
At the time of the early tenth-century tale,
Egypt had been under Muslim rule for approxi-
mately 300 years. In 969, the Shiʿi Fatimid dynasty
conquered Egypt from their base in Tunisia, mak-
ing Cairo their capital city.2 At this time, the most
1 This paper analyzes two versions of this tale. The first
occurs in History of the Patriarchs of the Egyptian Church,
Known as the History of the Holy Church, by Sawīrus
al-Muqaffaʾ, vol. ii, part ii, Khael iii=Shenouti ii (a.d. 880–
1066) (Cairo: Société d’Archéologie Copte, 1948). The sec-
ond is in The Churches and Monasteries of Egypt and Some
Neighbouring Countries, Attributed to Abū Ṣālih the
Armenian, ed. B.T.A. Evetts (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1895).
2 For particularly useful surveys of Islamic monuments
under the Fatimids, see Jonathan Bloom, Arts of the City
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central of the monuments considered here, the
complex of St Mercurius, lay in ruins. The story of
its reconstruction is recorded in detail by Michael
of Tinnis and Abu al-Makarim. Both authors
attribute the rebuilding of this complex to the
miraculous movement of the Muqattam Mountain
by Egyptian Christians. However, they provide dif-
ferent dates for the event, with Michael of Tinnis
suggesting it occurred under the caliph Al-Muʿizz
(r. 932–75), and Abu al-Makarim stating it occurred
under the caliph al-ʿAziz (r. 955–96).3
Today, the modern mega-churches of
Muqattam accommodate tens of thousands of
visitors, catering especially to the Christian gar-
bage collectors of the neighboring Muqattam
slums.4 These cave churches offer a fascinating
view into the modern Coptic faith and
Victorious: Islamic Art and Architecture in Fatimid North
Africa and Egypt (New Haven and London: Yale University
Press in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies,
2007), Ayman Fuʾād Sayyid, La capitale de l’Égypte jusqu’à
l’époque Fatimide: al-Qāhira et al-Fusṭāṭ. Essai de réconsti-
tution topographique (Berlin: F. Steiner, 1998), K.A.C.
Creswell, The Muslim Architecture of Egypt (Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1952).
3 According to Michael of Tinnis, this miracle occurred dur-
ing the tenure of the sixty-second patriarch, Anba
Abraham. However, this patriarch reigned prior to the
caliphate of Al-Muʿizz, adding another layer to the ques-
tion of dating. Maryann M. Shenoda, “Displacing Dhimmī,
Maintaining Hope: Unthinkable Coptic Representations
of Fatimid Egypt,” International Journal of Middle Eastern
Studies 39 (2007).
4 For a consideration of the modern churches and the
Christian garbage collecting community (zabaleen), see
Keith Sutton and Wael Fahmi, “Cairo’s Zabaleen Garbage
Recyclers: Multi-nationals’ Takeover and State Relocation
278
Figure 15.1 The Church of St Mary and St Samaan, main
entrance, Muqattam Mountain, Cairo. In the
tympanum, the Miracle of Muqattam is
depicted in mosaic.
© Jennifer Pruitt
the continuing significance of the Fatimid-era
miracle to modern Copts. A consideration of the
tenth-century foundational tale to which they are
linked contributes to a more nuanced view of the
richly textured nature of Muslim–Christian life
and interfaith relations in early Fatimid Egypt.5
Modern scholars often dismiss medieval Egyptian
Christian claims from sources such as The History
of the Patriarchs of the Egyptian Church, which
weaves together hagiography, miracles, and his-
torical events. Yet a closer analysis of tales like the
Miracle of Muqattam can help illustrate the com-
plex alliances and power struggles between
Plans,” Habitat International 30 no. 4 (2006); Anba Mattaos,
The Biography of Saint Samaan the Shoemaker “The
Tanner” (Cairo: The Church of St Samaan the Tanner in
Mokattam, 1998); “Cave Church,” cavechurch.com.
5 The Fatimid rule of Egypt lasted from 969–1171.
pruitt
Christians, Muslims, and Jews at the Fatimid court
in tenth-century Egypt. We learn, for example,
about how each group had the capacity to vie for
power from the Fatimid caliph. While the histori-
cal details embodied in this legendary tale are dif-
ficult to unravel, it nevertheless  suggests that,
although the Fatimid period may have been a rel-
atively peaceful time for the Christian minority,
obstacles to church construction and restoration
were still extremely significant. Ultimately, this
tale suggests that even in this time of tolerance,
the Coptic community had to ‘move mountains’
to gain the necessary permissions to restore their
churches.6
1 Historical Context
In the tenth century, Egypt was controlled by
the Ismaili Shiʿi dynasty, the Fatimids, who
claimed themselves caliphs, in competition
with the Sunni Abbasids in Baghdad and the
Umayyads in Cordoba. Scholars often distin-
guish the Fatimid era by the tolerance it exhib-
ited toward the multi-confessional populations
of Egypt, expressed in part by the inclusion of
Christians and Jews in high-ranking posts of the
bureaucracy. As in all medieval Muslim societ-
ies, Christians and Jews were considered ‘people
of the book’ (ahl al-kitab) and as such were
treated as a protected population (dhimmi). The
dhimmis were allowed to practice their religion
in return for loyalty to the state and an extra tax
(jizya). However, under the inclusiveness of the
Fatimid dynasty, these communities rose to par-
ticular prominence. In general, with the notable
exception of the reign of al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah
(r. 996–1021), under Fatimid rule, dhimmis were
granted the freedom to practice their faith
openly. By contrast, during the later Mamluk
periods of Egyptian history, Christians and Jews
6 Research for this article was begun in my doctoral disserta-
tion, Jennifer Pruitt, “Fatimid Architectural Patronage and
Changing Sectarian Identities (969–1021)” (Harvard University,
2009).