A group of Egyptian architects won the competition to rebuild the Great Mosque of al-Nuri in Mosul, Iraq: it was the mosque that was destroyed four years ago by the militants of the Islamic State who blew it up in June 2017, while the Iraqi army was preparing to retake the city.
The mosque was an important historical building, built in the twelfth century: right in the prayer hall the leader of Isis on June 28, 2014 Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had proclaimed the “caliphate”. The reconstruction of the building is part of the United Nations “Revive the Spirit of Mosul” project: from the 123 projects presented, that of 8 Egyptian architects was chosen.
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The battle for the reconquest of Mosul lasted almost nine months, leaving the city practically in ruins: thousands of civilians were killed and as many as 900,000 people were forced to leave the area. The reconstruction of the mosque “will be a milestone in the reconciliation process of the war-torn city,” said Audrey Azoulay, head of the United Nations cultural agency Unesco.
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While the prayer hall will look as it did before the destruction, there will be notable changes, including the use of natural light and expanded spaces for women and dignitaries, Unesco said in a statement. The Great Mosque takes its name from Nur al-Din Mahmoud Zangi, famous for the unification of Muslim forces against the Christian crusaders, who ordered its construction in 1172. The building was famous for its leaning minaret, nicknamed “al- Hadba “or” the hump “, and had been severely damaged during the Battle of Mosul.
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