Uwais al-Qarni Mosque

The Uwais al-Qarani Mosque was a Twelver Shi'a mosque in Raqqa, Syria, until it was demolished by the Islamic State on May 31, 2014., it is currently awaiting reconstruction.

History

The former mosque contained the shrines of Ammar ibn Yasir and Owais al-Qarani, who died in the Battle of Siffin in 657 CE, which took place around 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 Iran, Ruhollah Khomeini, 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 with completing the project.

Destruction

In June 2013, rebel fighters from al-Muntasereen Billah militia were living in the mosque complex. On 26 March 2014, the mosque was blown up by two powerful explosions and completely destroyed by the Islamic State because it was a Shi'a structure. More specifically, it was also built over graves and thus served as a shrine.