Mossul is back

IS had destroyed 80 percent of the old town of Mossul. After the victory over the terrorist militia and years of reconstruction, the city is now shining in old splendor. UNESCO boss Azoulay spoke of a symbol for the whole region.

After years of work, the cultural sites destroyed by the terrorist organization “Islamic State” (IS) in Iraqi Mossul have been restored. With the help of partners, the UN Culture Organization UNESCO has invested around 110 million euros in the restoration of historical sites and culture in the million city since 2018. The United Arab Emirates and the European Union financed most of the work.

UNESCO had put the reconstruction under the motto “revive the spirit of Mossul”. At the end of the reconstruction, UNESCO General Director Audrey Azoulay visited the rebuilt al-Nuri mosque with the associated al-Hadba minaret, the Al-Tahira Church and the Church of our wife in the second largest Iraqi city.

“Recovered from a crisis that many considered insurmountable”

“Mossul's revival is a founding act, a symbol for the entire Iraq and even beyond,” said Azoulay. “Here we showed what strength the inheritance, culture and education have to recover from a crisis that many thought was insurmountable.” IS tried to destroy the diverse way of life in Mossul. “But in this city, the spirit of the openness of people was stronger than any form of extremism. And now Mossul is alive again.”

When the reconstruction teams arrived in the city in 2018, they found a rubble field, Azoulay reported. 80 percent of the old town were destroyed. 115 explosive devices are defused, 12,000 tons of rubble removed and almost 9,000 historical fragments were collected, cleaned and sorted for reuse.

Is wanted to destroy certificates of “unbelief”

Mossul was the largest city that IS brought under control during its 2014 conquest. The terrorist militia controlled large areas in Iraq and in Syria and destroyed numerous archaeological sites in both countries. With a planier caterpillar and explosives, the extremists smashed cultural treasures from pre -Islamic times, which they called testimonies of “unbelief”.

For their propaganda, the extremists published videos, such as who smash artifacts in the Mossul museum, for example with sheltering hammers, to maintain international attention and possibly also attract new supporters. At the same time, IS participated in the illegal trade with looted cultural treasures – which in Iraq and Syria also flourished before IS rule.

“Reconstruction important means of terrorism”

“The IS tried to exploit the history of the city and replace it with its own narrative, which glorified its extremist ideology and demonized everyone else,” wrote the historian Omar Mohammed from Mossul, who is researching George Washington University in the USA. The IS wanted to create “a blank leaf”. He sees the reconstruction of cultural sites as an important means in the fight against terrorism to promote peace and tolerance.

The importance of cultural sites in the region, which is considered the cradle of civilization, is hardly to be measured. In today's Iraq, this includes the approximately 2,000-year-old antique desert city of Hatra, which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the former royal city of Nimrud south of Mossul, in which IS explained an approximately 3,000-year-old Assyrian palace and the mosque above the tomb of the biblical prophet Jona. In Syria, among other things, the approximately 2,000-year-old Baal Temple in the UNESCO World Heritage Site Palmyra fell victim to IS.

Official inauguration by Iraq Prime minister

Between 2016 and 2017, Iraqi forces conquered Mossul with the support of the international coalition. IS is considered to be militarily defeated today, but continues to be active and committed with around 2,000 to 3,000 fighters.

The official inauguration of the restored sites in Mossul is to take place later by the Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani.