Abu Hanifa Mosque, Ottoman mosque in Al-Adhamiyah district, Baghdad, Iraq
Abu Hanifa Mosque, also known as the Grand Imam Mosque, is a Sunni mosque and shrine in Baghdad's al-Adhamiyah district. Its entrance is faced with small yellow-brown glazed bricks in geometric relief, framing a pointed arch with a metal grille above white doors. A cylindrical minaret with a balcony stands to the left, and a large pale golden dome sits behind the facade.
The mosque was founded in 985 CE next to Abu Hanifa's tomb and underwent major changes during the 11th century with the addition of its dome. In the 16th century, Ottoman leadership expanded the complex significantly, reshaping its structures.
The mosque serves as the central institution for teaching Hanafi jurisprudence, making it the third oldest continuing educational center after Al-Qarawiyyin and Al-Azhar.
The complex sits in A'dhamiyya, north Baghdad, on the Rusafa side of the river, opposite the Kadhimiya district. The eastern part of the outer wall was cut when the Imams Bridge was rebuilt in 1957, so the street to the bridge runs straight past it. The cylindrical clock tower, 25 m high and clad in blue and white mosaic, was built after 14 July 1958 and received the A'dhamiyya clock in 1961; in 1973 the Awqaf Ministry covered it with gold-coloured corrugated aluminium sheets. The clock still runs.
The building houses the tomb of Abu Hanifa himself, the 8th-century Islamic scholar after whom it is named. This burial site draws visitors seeking to pay respects to a key figure in Islamic jurisprudence.
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