The Destruction of a 17th Century Safavid Dome at the Great Mosque of Kufa

Until 2026, the Great Mosque of Kufa had two proper masonry historic dual shell Persian domes. One of these was a larger gilded one over the tomb of Muslim ibn Aqeel (the slain envoy of Hussain ibn Ali) and the other a smaller dome covered in tiles of a deep green color over the tomb of Hani ibn Urwa (the 7th century companion of Imam Ali). Exact information on the mosques twin domes is difficult to come by, however it is generally agreed they were constructed sometime in the Safavid period between the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Stylistically this lines up with the known construction dates of other Persian domes at the Atabat in Iraq which have similar designs and proportions and are also Safavid era constructions.

The dome of Hani Ibn Urwa as seen in the late 19th Century

The dome of Hani ibn Uraq’s tomb withstood centuries of age, war, neglect, and an earlier aggressive Dawoodi Bohra funded expansion project, it did not however survive the senseless ruination projects of the past year. The Atabat in Iraq are in bad hands, management organizations and contractors that seem tireless when it comes to the destruction of precious historical architectural heritage are always at work. Why such a precious historical dome at one of the earliest established mosques of the Islamic world was demolished is absolutely bizarre to me. It is even more disturbing to see it now being reconstructed- or as the mosque’s management claims; “upgraded” with an industrially produced steel frame dome. I could go on as to why this is wrong, however I believe most of my readers should understand the inherit value of historical architectural heritage and why its destruction is not only wrong and wasteful, but a tragic loss for our civilization and its historic cultural treasures.

At the pace such destructive projects occur in Iraq, and with the complete lack of oversight and accountability the management organizations, contractors, and endowment funds who implement these projects face- I truly am concerned and wonder what the state of the Atabat will be by the end of this century. What is sacred will always remain sacred, however the rich history and architecture which frames the sacred can be lost and that is a tragedy worth being enraged over.