Al-Nabi Yunus Mosque ( ar, جامع النبي يونس, Jami' Al-Nabi Yunus) was a historic

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

located in

Mosul Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second large ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. It contained a tomb believed to be that of the Biblical prophet Jonah, known as

Yunus Yunus ibn Matta ( ar, يُونُس ٱبْن مَتّىٰ, Yūnus ibn Mattā) is a prophet and messenger of God (Allah). Yunus is traditionally viewed as highly important in Islam as a prophet who was faithful to God and delivered his messages. Y ...

by Muslims.

History

The alleged grave of the Prophet Yunus was discovered by Jalal al-Din Ibrahim al-Khatni during his reconstruction of the site as a

congregational mosque A congregational mosque or Friday mosque (, ''masjid jāmi‘'', or simply: , ''jāmi‘''; ), or sometimes great mosque or grand mosque (, ''jāmi‘ kabir''; ), is a mosque for hosting the Friday noon prayers known as ''jumu'ah''.* * * * * * * ...

in 1365. However, the mosque was also built over a demolished Assyrian Christian church that marked Jonah's grave. In 1924, the minaret was added to the mosque building by a Turkish architect. During Saddam Hussein's rule, the mosque was renovated and expanded.

Construction

The mosque had one minaret and a conical ribbed dome. The floors of the mosque were built out of Alabaster and the prayer rooms had arched entrances that were inscribed with

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

ic verses. The alleged tomb of Jonah was located at a corner of the mosque. The sarcophagus believed to be that of Jonah had a wooden

zarih A zarih ( hi, ज़रीह) or ḍarīḥ ( ar, ضَرِیح) is an ornate, usually gilded, lattice structure, that encloses a grave in a mosque or Islamic shrine. Zarihs serve as a marker for the tombs of religious figures, and as a symb ...

built around it. In addition to Jonah's tomb, a modern shrine which contains the tomb of Shaykh Rashid Lolan is present next to the mosque. This shrine dates back to the 1960s.

2014 destruction

On 24 July 2014, the building was blown up by the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...

,{{Cite news , last=Tawfeeq , first=Dana Ford,Mohammed , date=2014-07-24 , title=Extremists destroy Jonah's tomb, officials say , url=https://www.cnn.com/2014/07/24/world/iraq-violence/index.html , access-date=2023-01-05 , website=CNN , language=en damaging several nearby houses. They stated that "the mosque had become a place for

apostasy Apostasy (; grc-gre, ἀποστασία , 'a defection or revolt') is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that i ...

, not prayer."

Archeological discovery

In March 2017, after ISIL was driven out, a system of tunnels about one kilometre long were found under the mosque. Although all moveable items had been removed, there were still Assyrian reliefs, structures and carvings along the walls.

References

14th-century mosques Mosques completed in the 1360s Buildings and structures destroyed by ISIL Destroyed mosques Mosques in Mosul Sunni Islam in Asia Sunni mosques in Iraq Buildings and structures demolished in 2014 Attacks on mosques in Asia Islamist attacks on mosques