Prophet Yonus Mosque: a pile of rubbles and empty promises

Shafaq News/ Disfigured with a collage of love and reminisce graffitis, the ramshackle shrine of Prophet Yonus sits between rubble and rubbish piles awaiting the realization of empty renovation promises made over the past five years.

Located on the archaeological hill of al-Touba, the mosque built in the fourth century A.H. stands as one of Mosul's major religious landmarks.

It has been rebuilt and expanded several times. But since blowing it up by the terrorist organization of ISIS on August 2, 2014, many parts of it remain a pile of rubble that await the authorities' promises to be delivered.

The former head of the Sunni Endowment Office, Abdul Latif al-Hemim, laid the foundation stone after Mosul was liberated, but the reconstruction process was never completed. The shrine was then visited by many prominent politicians, who made futile promises of reconstruction, but nothing materialized.

In 2021, Manhal al-Khabbaz, Minister of Industry and Minerals, promised to contribute to the reconstruction process through a state-owned company in collaboration with former Sunni Endowment head, Saad Kambash, but work was halted a day after its launch.

Political impedance..

In an exclusive interview with Shafaq News agency, Industry Minister Manhal al-Khabbaz said that "certain parties have prevented the reconstruction of this mosque and the continuation of the initiative he put forward."

Al-Khabbaz said that he was accused at the time of exploiting the monument for electoral campaigning, although he was "not a candidate and had no intentions to run for the election."

The correspondent of Shafaq News Agency attempted to obtain more information about the figures who hampered his initiative of reconstructing the mosque, but he refused to provide any further details.

Archaeological treasure..

Under those piles of debris and trash, lays Nineveh's greatest archaeological treasures, a full Assyrian palace discovered after the liberation of the city.

It turns out that ISIS dug tunnels after bombing the shrine, which were discovered inside the palace after a foreign excavation mission agreed to work inside with the Antiquities Authority. Five winged bulls (Lamaso) were discovered inside the tunnels, and the excavation is still underway.

"Due to excavations and large tunnel networks beneath the hill, the mosque could not be rebuilt. Nothing can be built if the excavations are not completed because the tunnels underneath might collapse," Faisal Jabr, an archeology expert, told Shafaq News Agency.

To date, the Mission is still operating inside the long-distance tunnels beneath the hill, without disclosing the results of the second phase.

Shafaq News agency's correspondent attempted to enter the tunnel network, but the Antiquities Department explained that it was not allowed prior to the completion of the excavation work because it is dangerous for non-professionals.

Between the continuation of excavations and the promises of reconstruction, the mosque remains a pile of rubble.

Ahmed Abboud, a resident of western Nineveh, said he feels sorry every time he visits the mosque and sees the phrases that teenagers write on the walls and around the hill, "This is not appropriate for the mosque, its religious and has historical value. The dirt here is a disgrace for the local government, the city, and this important place."

Complicated matter..

Sheikh Mohammed al-Shamaa', the mosque's director for the past 25 years and a former director of endowments in Nineveh, stated, "the mosque's religious, historical, social, and even tourist significance is well known. This mosque is a part of Mosul's history."

"The bombing of the mosque was a heinous crime," al-Shamaa' continued, "but five years have passed since Mosul's liberation, and the mosque remains in this miserable state. That demonstrates nothing but the government's atrocious political clout."

"This neglect is a disgrace to the fictitious accomplishments of the central and local governments. The reconstruction of the mosque should have been done immediately after the liberation. The return of this mosque gives the people of the city a sense of normalcy, and the same applies to the Great Mosque of al-Nuri and al-Hadbaa' Minaret (the hunchback)."

"The crimes of terrorism are equal to the neglect that followed."

"The people of this city no longer have the capacity to claim their most fundamental rights."