History will remember who destroyed Mosul – and who helped rebuild it
There was just a thin wall dividing the room where I wrote the journal that became known to the world as Mosul Eye from the house where a senior ISIS fighter lived. There I sat, documenting the group’s brutality to the world, so close to the militants that I could hear them speak.
In June 2014, ISIS invaded Mosul and systematically destroyed the city. As a scholar, it was my mission to deconstruct their narrative, despite the great danger of doing so.
Writing history under such a totalitarian ideology became an act of resistance to the group’s destruction of Mosul’s multicultural identity and heritage.
I come from a city where
Jews, Christians, Yazidis and Muslims once lived together peacefully. I was, and am, determined that it should be restored to that former glory.
The revival of Mosul’s heritage will reveal much about humanity’s resistance to division and create safe spaces of communication.
As I was writing this piece to explain the importance of Al Nuri Mosque to my city, the UAE’s Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, Noura Al Kaabi, had just signed an agreement with Unesco to rebuild two historic churches in Old Mosul.
On August 15, 2014, the day ISIS destroyed Mosul Museum, I was walking beside Al Tahira Church and told a friend how the site, from the 13th century, had been looted. One olive tree had survived the rampage. I remember feeling this was a sign that the church would eventually be saved. I would go back to this church and light a candle there on behalf of the Christians who had been deported from the city. In ISIS-occupied Mosul, had I been discovered, I would have been executed. I recalled that moment as I heard news that Ms Al Kaabi would include Al Tahira and the Latin Church in their initiative called Revive the Spirit of Mosul. My prayers had been answered.
Now that we are rebuilding a war-destroyed city, it is natural to ask why it is important to rebuild our heritage. Take the Latin Church, for example. Since the 18th century, books have been produced at its printing press. The church was the heart of a cultural revival in Mosul that enabled residents to write, print and read religious, scientific, historical and literary texts in French, English, Arabic and Syriac. Prominent Muslim scholars studied at its school. More recently, the one-time director of the Latin Church library, Father Najeeb Michael, the current Archbishop of Mosul, is mentioned in the countless thesis submissions in Iraq by scholars who pored over the library’s manuscripts to complete their research. I hope one day, all manuscripts will be returned to their original home in the church library.
Al Tahira Church is another architectural marvel that used to be a sacrosanct place, a shelter to the poor and a symbol of honour for Muslims. Rebuilding its turquoise, yellow and white stained glass windows will help heal the city’s aesthetic spirit.
Between these two churches stands Al Nuri Mosque, a metaphor of coexistence. People will never forget who built these historic sites, who destroyed them and who worked hard to restore them.
Restoration of Mosul’s history is the best response to the narrative ISIS tried to impose on the city. It is thus important for the UAE, as an Arab Muslim country, to produce a counter-narrative. I have spoken to many people of different faiths in Mosul, who are pleased Al Nuri Mosque will sit alongside the two churches. This has sparked an intellectual discourse in the city about peaceful cultural spaces that we didn’t expect, given the trauma from which residents are still recovering.
When I spoke to the UAE’s cultural minister, her passion for the city enabled me to assure the community that these sites will be preserved. This step will elevate the city to a place in a global discourse on protection of heritage.
In light of the recently announced Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi, which will comprise a church, mosque and synagogue, I hope that the UAE will consider adding the reconstruction of the Jewish synagogue of Mosul to this mission. It is difficult for me to speak about a revival of the city’s diversity without including its Jewish sites. It is my hope that one day, the word “diversity” in Mosul can once again represent all the communities of Mosul – Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Yazidi.
The UAE is helping the traumatised Iraqi city recover from the rampage carried out by ISIS five years ago