The first clearance of rubble and explosives around the Al Tahera Catholic Church in Mosul has been completed paving the way for reconstruction to begin, the UN’s cultural agency said on Thursday.
The church was severely damaged by ISIS during the bloody internationally-backed Iraqi government battle to wrest the northern Iraqi city back from the militants.
Launched under the Reviving the Spirit of Mosul programme that aims to restore the shattered city, the agency aims to rebuild Mosul’s historic landmarks. The reconstruction of the Al Tahera Church as well as several other religious sites – including the famous Al Nuri Mosque with it's leaning minaret – is being funded by the UAE.
“This step sends a message of hope to the community in Mosul that has always been an incubator for religious and intellectual discourse,” the UAE’s Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development Noura Al Kaabi said.
The UAE funded project was launched in 2018 and began with the support to restore the 12th century Al Nuri Mosque and was expanded to include the nearby church and other buildings.
It is also offering training for young professionals, strengthening the capacities of local talent and creating job opportunities.
“Through our restorative efforts with Uneco, the UAE aims to rebuild various places of worship and allow displaced Moslawis to return to their homes,” Ms Al Kaabi said.
The UAE has invested $50 million (Dh183.6m) in the projects.
“Mosul has always been a place of tolerance and coexistence before several historical, religious and heritage sites were destroyed by extremists,” Ms Kaabi said.
The minister said the reconstruction of Al Tahira Church does not only cement Mosul’s position as a hub of rich cultural heritage, but also restores religious diversity that the old city is known for.
Unesco Representative to Iraq, Paolo Fontani, said the rehabilitation of the church is important not only because of its “value as cultural heritage, but also as a testimony to the diversity of the city.”
“It is a proud crossroads of cultures and a peaceful haven for different religious communities over the centuries,” he said.
The battle to drive out ISIS left about 8 million tonnes of rubble in Mosul. The scale of devastation has set the city back decades.
Heritage sites such as churches and mosques, as well as ancient and medieval sites, are among the casualties of the conflict, which raged for a year from 2016 after ISIS took over the city in 2014.
Thousands of the troops and civilians were killed in the military campaign, which ended when Iraqi Government forces took over the area in July 2017.
In the final phase of the fighting around the city's old quarter, ISIS blew up the famed leaning minaret of Al Nori Mosque just three years after the group's then-leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi stood at the mosque's pulpit to declare his so-called caliphate in Syria and Iraq.
