Mosul’s oldest mosque opened its doors to the public on Thursday nearly a decade after ISIS took over Iraq’s second-largest city.
Al Masfi, also known as the Ancient Mosque or the Umayyad Mosque, lies in the heart of the Old City of Mosul. It was built after the Islamic conquest of the city in 638AD.
The mosque has been restored many times over the years to preserve its ancient style and design. It was closed for restoration when ISIS seized control of Mosul in mid-2014 and the project was put on hold.
It was partially damaged during the military operation to drive out the militants in 2017 and remained surrounded by rubble for years.
“Thank God, we have reopened Al Masfi Mosque after rehabilitating it,” the spokesman of Sunni Waqf in Nineveh province, Sheik Ahmed Rakan Al Ebadi, told The National.
“It is a revival to the soul of the Old City of Mosul."
The restoration of the original structure, along with the building of a new imam house and ablution area, was undertaken by Aliph, an international alliance for the protection of heritage in conflict areas, in co-operation with the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage of Nineveh and the Sunni Waqf.
"It means a lot: that’s our first completed project, along with Tutunji House [also in Mosul] that we are also inaugurating today," Valery Freland, executive director of Aliph, said on Thursday.
The organisation's name is an acronym that is also the first letter of the Arabic alphabet.
Aliph fully funded the project, which cost $1.1 million and took a year to complete.
Mr Freland said the restoration of Al Masfi was part of a larger initiative called the Mosul Mosaic, launched to contribute to the UN cultural agency Unesco's project to revive the spirit of Iraq's second city.
He told The National Al Masfi was "a very important place of worship for the local community. The result is outstanding and everyone is very proud."
The city of Mosul, celebrated as Iraq’s cultural, religious and historical beacon, suffered heavy devastation during the ISIS occupation and the battle to liberate it from the terrorists.
The wreckage of city's ancient landmarks and vital infrastructure is being restored by international groups working with local authorities.
The Old City was the last stronghold for ISIS in Iraq and was the scene of fierce clashes that caused widespread destruction of its buildings.
“Everyone who lives in this city, grows in its shadows and drinks from its river, has a history in this city,” Mr Al Ebadi said.
“As we have rebuilt the mosques, we will rebuild the humans. There is no good in a nation that is ignorant of its past.”
Iraq is home to more than 15,000 cultural and heritage sites dating back to the 5,500-year-old city of Sumer, including archaeological remains of the Babylonia, Assyrian and Abbasid cultures.
Al Masfi Mosque began hosting prayers in 2021, four years after ISIS was driven out of the Old City, with worshippers praying among piles of rubble and collapsed walls to mark Eid Al Fitr.
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How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
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- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
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MATCH INFO
Chelsea 1
Alonso (62')
Huddersfield Town 1
Depoitre (50')
Closing the loophole on sugary drinks
As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.
The non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
Not taxed:
Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
South Africa v India schedule
Tests: 1st Test Jan 5-9, Cape Town; 2nd Test Jan 13-17, Centurion; 3rd Test Jan 24-28, Johannesburg
ODIs: 1st ODI Feb 1, Durban; 2nd ODI Feb 4, Centurion; 3rd ODI Feb 7, Cape Town; 4th ODI Feb 10, Johannesburg; 5th ODI Feb 13, Port Elizabeth; 6th ODI Feb 16, Centurion
T20Is: 1st T20I Feb 18, Johannesburg; 2nd T20I Feb 21, Centurion; 3rd T20I Feb 24, Cape Town
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
Funk Wav Bounces Vol.1
Calvin Harris
Columbia
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Gandhi Murder
- 71 - Years since the death of MK Gandhi, also christened India's Father of the Nation
- 34 - Nationalities featured in the film The Gandhi Murder
- 7 - million dollars, the film's budget
Fund-raising tips for start-ups
Develop an innovative business concept
Have the ability to differentiate yourself from competitors
Put in place a business continuity plan after Covid-19
Prepare for the worst-case scenario (further lockdowns, long wait for a vaccine, etc.)
Have enough cash to stay afloat for the next 12 to 18 months
Be creative and innovative to reduce expenses
Be prepared to use Covid-19 as an opportunity for your business
* Tips from Jassim Al Marzooqi and Walid Hanna
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Leaderboard
63 - Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA)
64 - Rory McIlroy (NIR)
66 - Jon Rahm (ESP)
67 - Tom Lewis (ENG), Tommy Fleetwood (ENG)
68 - Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP), Marcus Kinhult (SWE)
69 - Justin Rose (ENG), Thomas Detry (BEL), Francesco Molinari (ITA), Danny Willett (ENG), Li Haotong (CHN), Matthias Schwab (AUT)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Bharat
Director: Ali Abbas Zafar
Starring: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Sunil Grover
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
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Nick's journey in numbers
Countries so far: 85
Flights: 149
Steps: 3.78 million
Calories: 220,000
Floors climbed: 2,000
Donations: GPB37,300
Prostate checks: 5
Blisters: 15
Bumps on the head: 2
Dog bites: 1
Drivers’ championship standings after Singapore:
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - 263
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari - 235
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes - 212
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull - 162
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari - 138
6. Sergio Perez, Force India - 68
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi
Director: Kangana Ranaut, Krish Jagarlamudi
Producer: Zee Studios, Kamal Jain
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Ankita Lokhande, Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarni
Rating: 2.5/5
SPECS
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Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
