Uwais al-Qarani Mosque ( ar, مَسْجِد أُوَيْس ٱلْقَرَنِيّ, Masjid ʾUways al-Qaranīy) was a

Shi'ite Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most ...

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, in ...

Raqqa Raqqa ( ar, ٱلرَّقَّة, ar-Raqqah, also and ) ( Kurdish: Reqa/ ڕەقە) is a city in Syria on the northeast bank of the Euphrates River, about east of Aleppo. It is located east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. The Hellenistic, ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, until it was demolished by

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

on May 31, 2014. It is currently awaiting reconstruction.

History

Dedication

It contained the shrines of

Ammar ibn Yasir Abū 'l-Yaqẓān ʿAmmār ibn Yāsir ibn ʿĀmir ibn Mālik al-ʿAnsīy al-Maḏḥiǧī ( ar, أبو اليقظان عمار ابن ياسر ابن عامر ابن مالك العنسي المذحجي) also known as Abū 'l-Yaqẓān ʿAmmār i ...

and Uwais Qarani, who died in the

Battle of Siffin The Battle of Siffin was fought in 657 CE (37 AH) between Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth of the Rashidun Caliphs and the first Shia Imam, and Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, the rebellious governor of Syria. The battle is named after its location ...

in 657, which took place around 40 km west of Raqqa. It was adjacent to the Bab al-Baghdad, another major landmark in the city.

Construction

The original tombs were located in the old cemetery at the edge of the city. In 1988, Syrian President Hafez al Assad and the Supreme Leader of Shi'ite-majority

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Tu ...

Ayatollah Khomeini Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Imam Khomeini ( , ; ; 17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of ...

, initiated a project to develop a new mosque around the tombs. The work was completed in 2003 and a commemorative plaque credited President Bashar al Assad and Iranian President

Mohammad Khatami Sayyid Mohammad Khatami ( fa, سید محمد خاتمی, ; born 14 October 1943) is an Iranian politician who served as the fifth president of Iran from 3 August 1997 to 3 August 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture from 1982 t ...

with completing the project.

Destruction

In June 2013, rebel fighters from the Wahabi/ Salafi group al-Muntasereen Billah were living in the mosque complex. On March 26, 2014, the mosque was blown up by two powerful explosions and completely destroyed by

because it was a Shi'ite structure. More specifically, it was also built over graves and thus served as a shrine.

References

21st-century mosques Buildings and structures destroyed by ISIL Destroyed mosques Mosques in Raqqa Shia Islam in Syria Shia mosques in Syria Buildings and structures demolished in 2014 Attacks on Shiite mosques Mosques completed in 2003 Islamist attacks on mosques {{Syria-mosque-stub

History

Dedication

Construction

Destruction

See also

References