Uwais al-Qarani Mosque
مَسْجِد أُوَيْس ٱلْقَرَنِيّ
Religion
AffiliationTwelver Shi'ism
StatusDestroyed
Location
LocationRaqqa, Syria
Architecture
TypeMosque
Completed2003
Destroyed2014

Uwais al-Qarani Mosque (Arabic: مَسْجِد أُوَيْس ٱلْقَرَنِيّ, romanized: Masjid ʾUways al-Qaranīy) was a Twelver Shi'a mosque in Raqqa, Syria, until it was demolished by the Islamic State on May 31, 2014. It is currently awaiting reconstruction.

History

Dedication

It contained the shrines of Ammar ibn Yasir and Owais al-Qarani, who died in the Battle of Siffin in 657, which took place around 40 km (25 mi) west of Raqqa. It was adjacent to the Bab al-Baghdad, another major landmark in the city.[1][2]

Construction

The original tombs were located in the old cemetery at the edge of the city. In 1988, Syrian president Hafez al-Assad and the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ruhollah Khomeini, initiated a project to develop a new mosque around the tombs. The work was completed in 2003 and a commemorative plaque credited President Bashar al-Assad and Iranian President Mohammad Khatami with completing the project.[3]

Destruction

In June 2013, rebel fighters from al-Muntasereen Billah militia were living in the mosque complex.[4] On March 26, 2014, the mosque was blown up by two powerful explosions and completely destroyed by the Islamic State because it was a Shi'a structure. More specifically, it was also built over graves and thus served as a shrine.[5][6][7][8]

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Awis al-Qarni Mosque.
  1. ^ Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar of Sehwan-Sharif - Page 87, Inam Mohammad - 1978
  2. ^ Religion and politics in Central Asia under Saljûqs - Page 198, Naseem Ahmad - 2003
  3. ^ "The Shiite crescent eclipsed". Flickr. 16 April 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  4. ^ Dziadosz, Alexander (2013-06-21). "Special Report: Deepening ethnic rifts reshape Syria's towns". Reuters. Retrieved 2016-09-19.
  5. ^ "Islamists bomb Shi'ite shrine in eastern Syria: activists". Reuters. 2014-03-26. Retrieved 2016-09-19.
  6. ^ "Heritage sites ravaged by Syria's war". Al Jazeera English. 2014-12-24. Retrieved 2016-09-19.
  7. ^ Avaneesh Pandey (2013-12-26). "Al-Nusra Rebels Demolish 13th Century Tomb In Southern Syria Deemed Un-Islamic By Salafists". Ibtimes.com. Retrieved 2016-09-19.
  8. ^ Afp (2014-12-24). "War ravages Syria heritage sites". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 2016-03-23. Retrieved 2020-05-09.


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