BAGHDAD — On April 4, the Sunni Endowment Diwan revealed that the minaret of the historic Khulafa Mosque, built in A.D. 900, could collapse due to water leaking into its foundation. It also warned that this historical monument in Baghdad could fall apart. The 35-meter-high (115-foot) minaret, which is surrounded by markets and urban buildings, has started to lean over. Given its location in Shorja, one of the busiest markets in Baghdad, in particular at al-Jamhouriya Street, the mosque has been damaged by pollution. In addition, Sunni historical monuments are often neglected due to sectarian issues.
On April 14, a field report blamed the governing Shiite parties who have adopted ideologies against such landmarks since 2003, after the fall of Saddam Hussein’s (Sunni) regime. This was manifested by the destruction of statues and monuments, such as the statue of the founder of Baghdad, Abu Jafar al-Mansur, in 2012, whom Shiites see as an unjust ruler.
It seems that sectarian neglect has become a phenomenon that has reached other areas, as well. For instance, on March 12, 2007, a newspaper report referred to the neglect of the Sharabiya school in Wasit, which was built in A.D. 1234, because its founder was Iraqi Gov. Hajjaj al-Thaqafi, who is considered by Iraqi Shiites to have been a tyrant. This is why officials neither gave the school much attention nor did they allocate funds for this historical edifice.
On Feb. 5, head of the Sunni Endowment Diwan Abdul Latif al-Hamim made a press statement expressing his “regret for the great negligence that has afflicted the archaeological mosques in Baghdad."
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