Al-Nabi Yunus Mosque
Destroyed mosque in Mosul, Iraq
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The Al-Nabi Yunus Mosque' (Arabic: جَامِع ٱلنَّبِي يُوْنُس, romanized: Jāmiʿ An-Nabī Yūnus), also known as the , Mosque of the Prophet Yunus, and the Shrine of Nabi Yunis,[a] was a historic Sunni congregational mosque and shrine, partially[citation needed] destroyed in 2014, that was located in Mosul, in the Nineveh Governorate of Iraq. It contained a tomb believed to be that of the Biblical prophet Jonah, known as Yunus by Muslims.[b] After the liberation of Mosul, additional excavations revealed the ruins of a Neo-Assyrian palace beneath the mosque.[3]
(under reconstruction)[citation needed]
| Al-Nabi Yunus Mosque | |
|---|---|
جَامِع ٱلنَّبِي يُوْنُس | |
The destroyed mosque and shrine in 2019 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Sunni Islam (former) |
| Ecclesiastical or organisational status |
|
| Status | Destroyed (2014) (under reconstruction)[citation needed] |
| Location | |
| Location | Mosul, Mosul District, Nineveh Governorate |
| Country | Iraq |
  Location of the destroyed mosque in Iraq | |
 Interactive map of Al-Nabi Yunus Mosque | |
| Coordinates | 36°20′53″N 43°9′34″E |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Islamic architecture |
| Established | 1365 CE |
| Destroyed | 24 July 2014 |
| Specifications | |
| Dome | One: (destroyed) |
| Minaret | One: (destroyed) |
| Shrines | Two: |
| Materials | Alabaster |
History
In 1349, the remains of Hnanisho I were exhumed by members of the Church of the East in Mosul. He had been buried in the monastery of Jonah on the east bank of the Tigris, and when the tomb was opened, his body, lying in a coffin of planewood, was said to have been found to be in a miraculous state of preservation. The historian ʿAmr, who saw the body for himself, said that crowds came to view the dead patriarch, who seemed to be only sleeping.
Jalal al-Din Ibrahim al-Khatni destroyed the monastery shortly thereafter. He announced the discovery of the alleged grave of the prophet Jonah during the reconstruction of this site as a congregational mosque in 1365.[4] The Al-Nabi Yunus Mosque was built over the demolished site.[5][6] When Timur visited it in 1393, it had undergone a remarkable transformation. Hnanishoʿ was no longer remembered, and Timur was shown the tomb of the prophet Jonah himself. The 'tomb of Jonah' still exists, and visitors are still shown a heavy planewood coffin, reverently shrouded with a green cloth, in which the prophet supposedly lies buried. Some historians suspect that for the past six centuries, the Muslim faithful have been paying their devotions to the petrified corpse of a Christian patriarch.[7] The alleged tomb of Jonah[1] was located at a corner of the mosque. The sarcophagus had a wooden zarih built around it.
In addition to Jonah's tomb, a modern shrine to the Naqshbandi shaykh Rashid Lolan was located next to the mosque.[8] This shrine dates from the 1960s.[8]
2014 destruction
On 24 July 2014, the building was destroyed with explosives by the Islamic State,[9][10] damaging several nearby houses. The Islamic State stated that "the mosque had become a place for apostasy, not prayer."[9]
Archeological discoveries
In March 2017, after the IS was driven out, a system of tunnels, approximately 1 km (0.62 mi) long, were found under the remains of the mosque. Cuneiform inscriptions dated to the reign of Esarhaddon, ruler of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, have been found in these tunnels, dating the site as a palace built by Sennacherib (d. 681 BCE).[11] In 2025, a 6-meter lamassu, the largest yet to be discovered, was uncovered at the throne room of the site. [12][13]
Gallery
Mosque ruins in 2017
The mosque and shrine in 2011, prior to its 2014 demolition by ISIL
The mosque and shrine in 1999
Steps leading to the mosque in 1999
The mosque and shrine in 1932
