Shafaq News – Mosul (Updated at 15:42)
Mosul’s historic landmarks, including the Great Al-Nuri Mosque with its leaning Al-Hadba Minaret and the churches of Al-Saa’a and Al-Tahira, officially reopened on Monday after years of reconstruction under UNESCO’s Revive the Spirit of Mosul initiative.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani arrived in the city to attend the opening ceremony alongside a high-level Iraqi and Kurdish delegations as well as UN officials and an Emirati delegation led by Minister of Culture Salem bin Khalid Al-Qasimi.
According to Shafaq News correspondent, PM al-Sudani performed the noon prayer inside the mosque following the completion of restoration works.
In his speech, al-Sudani hailed the reconstruction as “a great victory over black terrorism,” adding that the mosque and its minaret “stand tall once again, a reminder to enemies of Iraq’s strength against destruction.”
Kurdish Interior Minister Reber Ahmed stressed that terrorism had sought to extinguish “the light of Mosul” by targeting religious and cultural landmarks, but “what was destroyed in stone was never erased from people’s memory or their conscience.” He commended the sacrifices of Iraqi forces, including the Peshmerga, in liberating the city from ISIS, and underlined the importance of rejecting divisions while strengthening coexistence and civil peace.
Former UAE Minister of Culture and current member of the UAE Cabinet, Noura Al Kaabi, considered the occasion as proof of resilience. “Today, the mosque and Al-Hadba return stronger and more alive, a testament to Mosul’s ability to overcome hardships and rise again,” she noted.
The UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Iraq, Mohamed El Hassan, underlined the global significance of the event, stressing that “through the reopening of the Al-Nuri Grand Mosque, the City of Mosul is declaring to the world the triumph of the will to live over the culture of death, and the victory of hope over .”
UNESCO Deputy Director-General Xing Qu highlighted Mosul’s enduring identity as a model of cultural and religious diversity, where Muslims, Christians, Jews, Yazidis, and Turkmen had lived together for centuries. He noted that the initiative has included rebuilding over 120 homes, restoring churches, and reviving economic and cultural life in the Old City.
The Revive the Spirit of Mosul initiative was launched by UNESCO in 2018 after 80 percent of the Old City was left in ruins during ISIS’s three-year occupation and the battle for liberation in 2017. Mosul, whose name means “the linking point” in Arabic, had long been a crossroads of civilizations where Muslim and Christian communities coexisted.
As part of the initiative, UNESCO rebuilt the Al-Nuri Mosque and its Al-Hadba Minaret, the Convent of Our Lady of the Hour, Al-Tahira Church, Al-Aghawat Mosque, about 120 heritage houses, and the Al-Ekhlass school. It also opened cultural spaces such as FilmLab, relaunched literary and music festivals, and rehabilitated classrooms under a program aimed at preventing violent extremism through education.