Archaeologists want to hold off on rebuilding Jonah’s mosque in Mosul
An Iraqi-British team hopes to excavate an ancient Assyrian palace found under the demolished shrine, which local authorities are eager to restore.
Rubble left from the Mosque of the Prophet Younis, or Jonah, in Mosul, Iraq, in July 2014. AP file photo.
Three years ago the self-described Islamic State destroyed the mosque at the site of what many Muslims believe to be the tomb of Jonah, which for centuries drew Muslim and Christian pilgrims to Mosul, the site of the ancient city of Nineveh.
Now that ISIS has been driven from Iraq’s second-largest city, local authorities and others say it is imperative to start reconstructing the Mosque of the Prophet Jonah. The mosque had marked the site since the 12th century, along with the ruins of a seventh-century Christian church.
“Jonah’s Mosque is a centerpiece of our collective memory,” said Hafidh al-Rahho, a lecturer in Islamic architecture at Ishik University in Erbil.
