thedrifter
07-06-07, 05:55 AM
Overexposed by TV crews, mosque framed as target
BAGHDAD — It has become an iconic symbol to millions of television viewers, perhaps as evocative of Baghdad as the Empire State Building is of New York City.
The glistening turquoise dome at the 14th of Ramadan Mosque serves as the backdrop for TV news reports that are broadcast all over the world.
But those who worship there say that the mosque's newfound fame has made it a target for regular attacks, and membership is plummeting.
"The maximum number of people you would see is about 15 at the noon and afternoon praying," said Sheik Omar al-Saedi, the imam of the Sunni mosque. "Nobody comes at the dawn prayer."
Al-Saedi's predecessor, Sheik Qussay Abdel Amir, was killed last year, according to Khalil Mohammed, a full-time volunteer who lives at the mosque.
"We have been threatened several times," Mohammed said.
A squadron of 14 guards does offer protection, but the sentries often have been outgunned by the thousands of militants who engage in sectarian violence throughout the capital city.
Problems at the mosque began almost as soon as U.S. forces took over Baghdad in 2003.
Western media outlets laid claim to the Palestine Hotel, setting up TV shots on its sprawling second-floor balcony that has a view of the mosque and overlooks Firdos Square — former site of the statue of Saddam Hussein, which Marines famously toppled shortly after the war began.
A truck bomb that tore through the nearby Sadeer Hotel in 2004 blew tiles off the rear of the mosque's dome, al-Saedi said. More damage occurred when the Palestine Hotel was bombed later that year.
When Sunni insurgents bombed a shrine in Samarra in February 2006, Shiites retaliated against the 14th of Ramadan Mosque, which was hit by gunfire. Shiites briefly took over the mosque until U.S. forces protecting the Palestine chased them away, al-Saedi said.
Bullet marks remain on the sand-colored outer walls.
The 14th of Ramadan Mosque is one of Baghdad's most ornate and significant Sunni mosques. Its interior walls are intricately carved to resemble the Abu Hanifa Mosque in Baghdad, which is Iraq's most prominent Sunni mosque.
The 14th of Ramadan Mosque was built in the 1950s by King Faisal II, the last monarch of Iraq, and opened in 1959 by Abdul Karim Qasim, who took over from Faisal in a coup. Originally named for Muslim martyrs, it was renamed 14th of Ramadan in 1963 when members of the Baath Party took over the country. The new name commemorated the day of the Baath revolution.
The recent damage has not been fixed. The mosque cannot replace the blown-off bricks, which are made specially in Karbala, south of Baghdad, al-Saedi said.
Anyone going on the roof could face sniper fire, he said, "and we need a large amount of money that we don't have."
By Zaid Sabah
Ellie
BAGHDAD — It has become an iconic symbol to millions of television viewers, perhaps as evocative of Baghdad as the Empire State Building is of New York City.
The glistening turquoise dome at the 14th of Ramadan Mosque serves as the backdrop for TV news reports that are broadcast all over the world.
But those who worship there say that the mosque's newfound fame has made it a target for regular attacks, and membership is plummeting.
"The maximum number of people you would see is about 15 at the noon and afternoon praying," said Sheik Omar al-Saedi, the imam of the Sunni mosque. "Nobody comes at the dawn prayer."
Al-Saedi's predecessor, Sheik Qussay Abdel Amir, was killed last year, according to Khalil Mohammed, a full-time volunteer who lives at the mosque.
"We have been threatened several times," Mohammed said.
A squadron of 14 guards does offer protection, but the sentries often have been outgunned by the thousands of militants who engage in sectarian violence throughout the capital city.
Problems at the mosque began almost as soon as U.S. forces took over Baghdad in 2003.
Western media outlets laid claim to the Palestine Hotel, setting up TV shots on its sprawling second-floor balcony that has a view of the mosque and overlooks Firdos Square — former site of the statue of Saddam Hussein, which Marines famously toppled shortly after the war began.
A truck bomb that tore through the nearby Sadeer Hotel in 2004 blew tiles off the rear of the mosque's dome, al-Saedi said. More damage occurred when the Palestine Hotel was bombed later that year.
When Sunni insurgents bombed a shrine in Samarra in February 2006, Shiites retaliated against the 14th of Ramadan Mosque, which was hit by gunfire. Shiites briefly took over the mosque until U.S. forces protecting the Palestine chased them away, al-Saedi said.
Bullet marks remain on the sand-colored outer walls.
The 14th of Ramadan Mosque is one of Baghdad's most ornate and significant Sunni mosques. Its interior walls are intricately carved to resemble the Abu Hanifa Mosque in Baghdad, which is Iraq's most prominent Sunni mosque.
The 14th of Ramadan Mosque was built in the 1950s by King Faisal II, the last monarch of Iraq, and opened in 1959 by Abdul Karim Qasim, who took over from Faisal in a coup. Originally named for Muslim martyrs, it was renamed 14th of Ramadan in 1963 when members of the Baath Party took over the country. The new name commemorated the day of the Baath revolution.
The recent damage has not been fixed. The mosque cannot replace the blown-off bricks, which are made specially in Karbala, south of Baghdad, al-Saedi said.
Anyone going on the roof could face sniper fire, he said, "and we need a large amount of money that we don't have."
By Zaid Sabah
Ellie