BASRA, Iraq: The Siraji minaret and mosque, built in 1727, were collapsed by a bulldozer at daybreak on Friday morning, its brown mud-brick spire with turquoise embellishments disappearing in a cloud of dust.
The removal of a 300-year-old mosque minaret in Iraq’s southern city of Basra on Friday to make room for road development infuriated people, religious and cultural officials, who criticised it as further degradation of Iraq’s cultural legacy.
The Siraji minaret and mosque, built in 1727, were collapsed by a bulldozer at daybreak on Friday morning, its brown mud-brick spire with turquoise embellishments disappearing in a cloud of dust.
The governor of Basra planned to demolish the minaret to relieve traffic congestion in the city, but religious and cultural authorities, including the Sunni Muslim endowment and antiquities officials, stated it was intended to be protected and transferred rather than destroyed.
“All peoples preserve their history and heritage, but here they destroy our history and heritage?” Majed al Husseini, a Basra resident, stated as he stood near the mosque’s ruins.
Much of Iraq’s rich cultural heritage has been destroyed by neglect and years of violence, such as with the Islamic State, extending back thousands of years to some of the world’s first empires in ancient Mesopotamia, and more recently to its Islamic history.
Heritage conservationists are concerned that a building boom in Baghdad, as well as plans to extend roads, bridges and other infrastructure across the country, could ruin what is left.
Culture Minister Ahmed al-Badrani told Reuters that he had not given authorization to remove the Siraji Mosque’s minaret and that local antiquities officials had agreed to relocate it with the governor.
The ministry would now attempt to salvage and preserve its remains, as well as reconstruct a model, similar to what was done with Mosul’s Al-Nuri mosque, which was blown up by the Islamic State in 2017.
Basra Governor Asaad Al Eidani supported the demolition, claiming that the Sunni endowment and antiquities officials failed to remove and relocate the minaret despite being given more than a year to do so.
He claimed they were recently informed of its impending demolition and did not object, adding that he intended to build a new mosque in its place.
When contacted by Reuters, Mohammed Munla, the chairman of Basra’s Sunni endowment, claimed the body had not agreed to, nor had its officials been notified of, intentions to remove the mosque’s tower, but had instead agreed with the governor to identify a business that could relocate it.
Munla was fired immediately after speaking with Reuters but before this interview was published.
The Sunni endowment did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
