While they build them over here. The Great Mosque of al-Nuri is no more.
The United States and Iraq said ISIS blew up a historic mosque in Mosul that was the ideological heart of the terror group and the birthplace of its self-declared caliphate. ISIS, through its news agency, said US warplanes were responsible for the loss late Wednesday of the Great Mosque of al-Nuri and its leaning minaret.
US officials told CNN the ISIS claim was “1,000% false.” Iraq Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the ISIS act amounts to “an official announcement of their defeat.” His military commanders said militants blew the mosque up after troops closed in.
I don’t really care who destroyed the Great Mosque of al-Nuri. What I would like to know is why the West’s military forces are destroying mosques over there, where they belong, and not over here, where they do not. And even from the Muslim perspective, is an ugly community center building in London or Toronto really much of a substitute for a historic 800-year-old structure?
The only real question is if “backwards” or “retarded” is the more appropriate term for the West’s current military response to the third great wave of Islamic expansion. And here is a question: if ISIS shows so little respect for the architectural history and traditions of Islamic culture, why do you think its enthusiasts will show any more for the architectural history and traditions of the West?