MOC stresses the need to speed up the reconstruction of the Al-Nuri Mosque and two churches in Mosul

Baghdad - INA

Minister of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities, Hassan Nadhim, stressed today, Thursday the need to speed up the reconstruction of the Al-Nuri Mosque and two churches in Mosul, while recommending attention to the comments of those objecting to the new design of the mosque.

Nadhim said in a statement issued during a virtual meeting with UNESCO experts, and received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA): "The pace of work in the stages of the Spirit of Mosul project for the reconstruction of the Al-Nuri Mosque, the mosque and the Hadba minaret in the old city in central Mosul must be accelerated, as well as the two churches Al-Tahra and Al-Sa'a." Noting that "all the international parties participating in the work, want to restore the mosque, the minaret and the two churches to their roles, and to be returned as important cultural sites and evidence in the history of Mosul in general."

Regarding the reactions after the announcement of the Egyptian design winning the Spirit of Mosul competition, the Minister of Culture stated that he "communicated with the architect, Raya Al-Ani, head of the jury, and confirmed that she is in the process of responding and clarification through a lengthy article dealing with the reason for choosing the current design," noting that he "recommend those concerned in the UNESCO and the specialized committees pay attention to the observations of those objecting to the winning project, and that there is a defense of this design and how it represents the spirit of Mosul. Differences exist in all creative works, but the visions of all parties must be gathered.

For her part, Al-Ani clarified that "all the criticisms will be responded to with an article to answer these observations in order to settle these controversies," calling for "there to be an official response to these criticisms that are issued by experts and specialists."

The meeting also dealt with the construction committee listening to the different opinions and opposition with the start of entering into the technical details of the project at the end of June. The mechanisms for selecting the local Iraqi partner for the winner of the design competition were also discussed, the Egyptian Consulting Office also discussed maintenance operations and rebuilding the Hadba minaret without re-design, with Developing the area surrounding the mosque and maintaining and preserving the nearby heritage houses.