With the continued tightening the noose on the organization of “Daesh” in its stronghold in the Iraqi city of Mosul, while Iraqi troops were just 50 meters from Al-Nouri mosque in the old Mosul, the militants “Daesh” blew up Al-Nouri mosque and the historic Minaret al-Hadba (hunchback). To wake up the people of Mosul on Thursday for the first time since centuries without a historical leaning minaret al-Hadba. With this criminal act, the prohibited act occurred, that was feared by the people of Mosul and archaeologists. In this context, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said that the act of Daesh on the bombing of the historic mosque Nouri and a Minaret of Hadba in the western side of the city of Mosul is an official announcement of the defeat of the organization in the battles. For his part, Osama Najafi, Iraqi Vice President said that the destruction of Minaret al-Hadba and the Mosque of Al-Nouri “Mosul lose one important historical names.” Al-Nijaifi added that Daesh is responsible for this criminal act , and said that Daesh today announced to “the whole world about his true identity, which is destruction and nothing else.” and the people of Mosul also accused Daesh of the bombing of the mosque, stressing that “Daesh” sees in the leaning of the Minaret , that was being built in the twelfth century, a symbol suggests the “deviation from religion”, making it in the circle of the target of organization, which destroyed much of the historical monuments in Iraq’s second city, especially the Mosul Museum and historic places.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and cultural organization (UNESCO) has condemned strongly the destruction of the great Nouri mosque (Jami an-Nuri) in Mosul and the famous minaret “Hadba” by Daesh.
The organization (UNESCO) described the site as a symbol of the identity of the city, and said that this act “is a humanitarian and cultural tragedy.” This is not the first time that the historic monument has been destroyed in Iraq. But the legacy of this time involves mixing the religion to the history, in addition of the cultural connotations of the minaret as it is a symbol of the entire city. The question that arises in this context why Daesh has bombed a mosque al- Nouri?
The history of Al-Nouri mosque dates back to 1172, and was the most important Sunni mosque in Mosul. And it has gained its name from the Muslim leader Noureddine Mahmoud Zangi, best known for his war on the Franks “crusaders”. The known leaning minaret covered with small brick decorations as the “Hadba”. Mosque was famous for its leaning minaret towards the east, which is the only part remaining in its place of the original construction, the Minerate is one of the most historic monuments in the city. The people of Mosul believe that their old Minaret is leaning as it bow down to the Prophet Muhammad as an expression of respect, and because of that bending the muezzin never risking to climb up. The Great Mosque has been rebuilt in 1942, according to the royal orders of the Iraqi government but the Minaret remained the same since the middle centuries. And on the fourth of July 2014, al- Baghdadi delivered a speech on Friday prayers from the pulpit of the mosque and spoke about the “Caliphate” announced by the organization. The black banner was raised on the famous minaret of the mosque, and a mosque became afterwards, the center of the activities of the organization.
Most observers believe that the destruction of the mosque, is an indication to the last angry challenge of the organization before losing control of Al-Mosul. and the destruction of this landmark is probably better for the organization than to see it under the control of their enemies, this scenario represents the biggest symbolic blow by the organization, and Followers of the Iraqi affair believed that the destruction process was expected considerably, noting that Daesh does not want the alleged caliphate center to be fallen, however, to the hands of government forces, which will take the initiative to invest it as a strategic victory on the organization, which has consistently blow up its headquarters to prevent his opponents from the analysis of what was left behind it, hoping to reach some of secrets.
The observers believe that al-Nuri mosque is not a monument , but a history lived by generations of residents of the conservative city , and to remove it in the way that we have seen means the removal of Mosul from the characteristic defined by it from the future of Iraq and replace it with the memory of the city where the terrorists have wreaked havoc in it . The observer added that talking today about the mosque Nouri as the place where Baghdadi ascended the pulpit is like the one who seeks to enter the whole of Mosul in a black hole, considering that this classification will shed dull lights over the lives of residents of the city that need a political and economic project to save it from the catastrophe that hit it.
After the Mongol occupation of the Mosul, al- Nouri mosque suffers, like the others, a lot of neglect and damage and Mosul was destroyed almost completely in 1734. The building remained steadfast about the 850 years, where it was survived from the Mongol invasion, but did not survive from the organization “Daesh”. This bombing, is it a declaration of defeat by Daesh or erase the history of its control over Mosul?
The Iraqi Studies Unit
Rawabet Center for Research and Strategic Studies