Al-Nabi Jirjis Mosque ( ar, مسجد نبي الله جرجس, Mosque of the Prophet of Allah, Jirjis) was a historic religious complex consisting of a mosque and mausoleum located in
Mosul,
Iraq. The person buried in the mausoleum is believed to be that of
Saint George, known by Muslim locals as Jirjis.
History
The alleged tomb of Jirjis was located inside a
Quraysh
The Quraysh ( ar, قُرَيْشٌ) were a grouping of Arab clans that historically inhabited and controlled the city of Mecca and its Kaaba. The Islamic prophet Muhammad was born into the Hashim clan of the tribe. Despite this, many of the Qur ...
cemetery in Mosul.
In 1393,
Tamerlane commissioned a mosque to be built at the site, and a dome over the alleged tomb of Jirjis. Several endowments, or
waqf, were also organized to maintain the building.
In 1910, the structure was rebuilt after a major earthquake destroyed it completely.
Construction
The mausoleum of Prophet Jirjis is a small square measuring 4.7 on each side. It is topped by a conical ribbed dome. The walls of the mausoleum are covered with green and yellow glazed brick tiles to the height of two meters, surmounted by a
Quranic inscription band. Next to the mausoleum is a room measuring 4.17 by 4.46 meters with a central column to support the ceiling.
South of the mausoleum lies the mosque that was built by Tamerlane. A circular dome topped the mosque and the
mihrab
Mihrab ( ar, محراب, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "qibla w ...
was transplanted from the original tomb into the mosque during construction. There are two prayer halls inside the shrine, one for the Sunni
Hanafi rite and another for followers of the Sunni
Shafi'i rite.
The
minaret
A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گلدسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...
was added in 1853 and it is made out of stone. It features a
muqarnas balcony topped with a pointed spire.
2014 demolition
The Al-Nabi Jirjis Mosque was demolished by the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant on 27 July 2014. The militants responsible claimed that the mosques had become places for apostasy and not prayer.
References
{{coord missing, Iraq
Mosques in Mosul