The leaning minaret of Al Nuri Mosque, which stood over the alleyways of Mosul’s Old City for almost 850 years before it was destroyed by ISIS, has risen again as a symbol that the northern Iraqi city endures.
The restoration of the mosque – led by Unesco with funds from the UAE and other countries – has been seven years in the making after it was destroyed in 2017 in a battle between US-backed Iraqi forces and the extremist group.
Its history stretches back more than eight centuries. The mosque derives its name from Nureddine Al Zinki, the unifier of Syria who reigned for a time over Mosul after battling Crusaders and Shiite Fatimids. He ordered construction of the building in 1172.
Al Zinki made it his life’s work to restore the spiritual unity of Islam, to secure the Middle East from foreign invasion and to preserve classical Islamic civilisation from extremism.
During his 28-year rule, he captured Damascus and laid the foundations for the success of Saladin, who served as his commander in Egypt before founding the Ayyubid dynasty and retaking Jerusalem in 1187.
Al Zinki was determined there should be only one caliph around whom the Muslims could unite. Al Nuri Mosque was built, in part, as a celebration of his progress in doing so.
In more recent history, the mosque was destroyed then rebuilt in 1942 as part of a renovation project. Only the ancient minaret now remains from the original structure.
In June 2014, ISIS militants seized control over Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city. They launched a campaign to destroy and ransack its rich archaeological and heritage sites, churches and Islamic buildings, which the group considered pagan and idolatrous. This included blowing up the famous leaning minaret in June 2017 as they retreated from Mosul under pressure from Iraqi government forces.
Famously, ISIS declared its self-proclaimed "caliphate” in mid-2014 from the pulpit of the mosque. The group named Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi as Caliph Ibrahim and demanded allegiance from Muslims worldwide.
But by late 2017, Iraq declared ISIS militarily defeated. The victory came with a hefty price; large areas of the country were in left ruins, tens of thousands of people killed and millions displaced. In February the following year, Iraq was appealing for about $88 billion for post-war reconstruction.
The Mosul restoration project was launched in April 2018, aimed at reconstructing the city’s famous buildings and heritage houses, while also repairing schools and the city's rich cultural scene. The UAE donated $50.4 million to restore Al Nuri Mosque as well as two churches in the area.
Unesco has faced many challenges, including clearing the site of mines, salvaging historical artefacts from rubble and the outbreak of Covid-19 that delayed the five-year deadline.
Thousands of tonnes of rubble had to be removed carefully and sifted through to search for salvageable pieces that could be used in the reconstruction. Workers also had to remove dangerous ordnance, including an unexploded bomb found beneath the dome of the mosque.
In February this year, Unesco celebrated completion of the 45-metre minaret as part of the $115 million Revive the Spirit of Mosul project. Local legend holds that the minaret is tilted because it bowed to the Prophet Mohammed as he ascended to heaven.
The restored Al Nuri complex radiates grandeur. Its gardens are lush with neatly manicured lawns and flowers. The minaret, decorated with ornamental brickwork featuring floral and geometric designs, dominates the Mosul skyline with a gleaming copper crescent at the top.
The mihrab, a niche indicating the direction of Makkah, has been repaired using its original stones, while the minbar, where sermons are delivered, has been rebuilt using new materials. Intricate patterns of geometric and floral designs are etched into the walls and pillars.
At an event to mark the completion in February, Unesco director general Audrey Azoulay said the restoration of the minaret “is like history coming back, like the identity of this city coming back".
“We can listen to the sounds of Mosul and it is good to hear those sounds because I remember the deafening silence that used to be here," she said. “The history of Mosul dating back thousands of years can continue to inspire and amaze us."
