Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An elevated platform near the mihrab in a mosque, from which the sermon is delivered during services.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun See mimbar.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A pulpit in a mosque, usually shaped like a small tower, where the imam stands to deliver sermons.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Arabic, probably from Ge'ez manbar, seat, pulpit, or mənbār, seat, throne, both from nabara, to sit; see nbr in Semitic roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Arabic منبر‎

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Examples

  • Finally he decided to conform, but when he climbed the steps of his "minbar" and scanned his congregation he saw a group of German officers wearing tarboushes with a look of almost porcine complacency.

    Pan-Islam

  • A mihrab, minbar, and four minarets were constructed over time.

    The Thieves of Darkness Richard Doetsch 2010

  • A mihrab, minbar, and four minarets were constructed over time.

    The Thieves of Darkness Richard Doetsch 2010

  • A mihrab, minbar, and four minarets were constructed over time.

    The Thieves of Darkness Richard Doetsch 2010

  • The minbar of Ganim Al-Bahlawan was among the most important in any of Cairo's monumental mosques.

    There is NOTHING Sacred Anymore... Jan 2008

  • At Ganim Al-Bahlawan robbers removed the decorative elements of the minbar, leaving a plain wooden frame.

    Archive 2008-06-01 Jan 2008

  • It has a mihrab (a semicircular prayer niche in one wall), a minbar (a small elevated pulpit for the imam), and the rest is pure unencumbered space, innocent even of pews.

    A Minaret Over Manhattan 2008

  • The theft of the minbar 's right hand panel was discovered at the time of dawn prayer.

    Archive 2008-06-01 Jan 2008

  • The fire destroyed a priceless on thousand year old wood and ivory pulpit minbar that had been sent from Aleppo by Saladin.

    [strange days] the messiah cometh ... or not 2008

  • The theft of the minbar 's right hand panel was discovered at the time of dawn prayer.

    There is NOTHING Sacred Anymore... Jan 2008

Comments

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  • "And what of the analogy between sex and tree, the palm whose fermented nectar, a mere drop on the tongue, transports us to the bed of Eros, ardor impatient to flee the Saharan heat by immersion in the sweat and wax of this henna-tinted, finely tattooed body—a minbar on a hip, the Ka'aba on a thigh, winglets on her shaved pubis—bodies swelling together until the eye of the needle is opened and threaded, freeing you, putting you beyond limits: musk, floral essence, mingling of honeys?"

    Talismano by Abdelwahab Meddeb, translated by Jane Kuntz, p 15 of the Dalkey Archive Press paperback

    September 16, 2011

  • Speaking of sex and trees, I recently ordered a copy of this novel. Has anyone read it?

    September 16, 2011

  • Why yes, actually. Here is a link to my review on goodreads:

    A Melon for Ecstasy

    September 16, 2011

  • Ha ha! I might have known!

    Actually, it's possible your GR review was how it got on my wishlist in the first place - I can't remember how I heard of it.

    September 16, 2011