Reconstruction of Mosul’s leaning minaret, mosque to start next week

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) The reconstruction work at the Grand Nuri al-Kabeer mosque in Mosul will take place next week, after almost a year of its destruction during liberation battles against Islamic State to free the city.

The semi-official Al-Sabah newspaper quoted Bashar al-Kiki, head of Nineveh provincial council, as saying that “the reconstruction of the Nuri al-Kabeer mosque, which is famous for its leaning minaret, is scheduled to start next week after Emirates has donated sum of USD 50 million.”

According to Kiki, the previous period of time saw “the agreement with UNESCO, with support from Emirates and mediation from France to reconstruct the leaning minaret and the mosque in addition to building a museum, to be affiliated to the mosque, and renovating the nearby houses.”

The project “could take up to three years,” he added.

In April, the Iraqi Ministry of Culture indicated a partnership with each of UAE, UNESCO and the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) to launch a project on the reconstruction of the mosque and its leaning minaret in Mosul’s Old City.

The medieval structure was blown up by Islamic State members in June as Iraqi forces became closer to the recapture of Mosul, which sparked condemnation from world heritage agencies.

It was from that mosque when The group’s supreme leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi made his first appearance in a video him making the sermon proclaiming the establishment of an Islamist “caliphate” in the Old City’s Grand Nuri Mosque in June 2014, and never showed up again.