Iraq: Reconstruction work at al-Nouri mosque reveals foundations of ancient church under the mosque

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During the Ground Zero Mosque controversy, when I pointed out that it was common Islamic practice to build mosques on the sites of the houses of worship of conquered peoples, this was dismissed as “Islamophobia,” despite the obvious evidence of the Temple Mount, innumerable Hindu temple sites, and more. Here is more confirmation of what I was claiming.

“Possible church vestiges under the foundations of the al-Nuri Mosque,” AsiaNews, January 19, 2022:

Mosul (AsiaNews) – Important vestiges have emerged recently during reconstruction work at the al-Nouri mosque, which, along with Our Lady of the Hour Church[*], is one of Mosul’s iconic sites.

A few days ago, during excavation, workers uncovered the foundations of a prayer hall dating back to the 12th century under the mosque.

According to some sources, the foundations could belong to an ancient Christian church, built centuries before the mosque. The latter became famous worldwide because it was here that the leader of the Islamic State (IS), Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, proclaimed the caliphate on 29 June 2014.

The mosque was largely destroyed in 2017, during the offensive by the Iraqi army – supported by the United States – against the Islamic State, which marked IS’s military defeat and the liberation of Iraq’s northern metropolis.

“The foundations of the old prayer hall are more extensive than those of the prayer hall built in the 1940s,” said Khaireddine Nasser, director of the Department of Antiquities and Heritage in Nineveh province….

The excavation is being carried out with support from UNESCO and funding from the United Arab Emirates, and it is set to end in 2023.

The discovery has sparked the interest of historians as well as the local Christian community because the foundations might belong to ancient church, built long before the mosque.

This possibility rests on the discovery of a few columns that suggest a Christian place of worship and some coins dating back to the period when the city was governed by atabegs under Seljuk sovereignty….