Ottoman Salonika
arts, even Habsburg Orientalism, picked up in Vienna.^47 Its Corinthian
columns, paying homage to the Greco-Byzantine history of the place and
to neoclassicism, hold up Alhambra-style Andalusian arches, referenc-
ing Islam as well as the origin of many of the Spanish Jewish Dönme
ancestors, above which prominent bands of six-pointed stars in marble
wrapping are inscribed on the building’s interior and exterior, conjuring
up comparisons with Italian synagogues. Above the entrance, a large six-
pointed star is embedded within an ornate arabesque. Among the ara-
besques on the ceiling is a star and crescent. Finally, clocks positioned near
the top of two turrets on the front of the building remind one of the era’s
accelerated pace, whereas a sundial on the south side represents older local
ways of telling time.^48
We can interpret the construction of this mosque in at least three ways.
First, we might assume that the Yakubi Dönme who endowed it were
sincere Muslims, and that the building was a manifestation of their faith.
Second, we might imagine that the Dönme prayed in the mosque like
other Muslims, but added extra Dönme prayers and rituals. Thus they
were “Muslims plus.” Or we might believe that although they built a
mosque, and prayed in it, they either did not do so sincerely, or never ac-
tually engaged in Muslim rituals there. From all the evidence I have gath-
ered, what strikes me as most convincing is the second, that the Dönme,
even in their own mosque, or especially in their own mosque, practiced
both Muslim and Dönme rituals, in keeping with Dönme character.
The question remains: when did they start attending mosque? Prior to
the building of the New Mosque, they must have prayed in their neigh-
borhood mosques, in addition to their central Dönme prayer houses. It
is hard to imagine the Dönme completely feigning Islam, praying five
times a day, at home before dawn, and with the community on Friday af-
ternoon, and remaining unaffected. It is hard to imagine the mind of the
individual being completely absent when he went through the motions.
It is more logical to assume that the Dönme prayed like other Muslims,
but added additional Dönme prayers and rituals, just as they did at their
exclusive burial services.
The question then emerges, with whom did they pray? It is also hard
to imagine that individual Dönme would pray at mosques shoulder to
shoulder with Muslims who might notice a difference in their prayers.
If the New Mosque was the main mosque used by Dönme for funeral
prayers before burials, then it may have served a function similar to that