Great Mosque, Religious center in Duhok, Iraq
The Great Mosque stands in Akrê, in the Duhok Governorate of Iraq's Kurdistan Region, and covers 3,000 square metres. It is a Sunni mosque founded in 20 AH (640/641 CE) during the caliphate of Umar. Several madrasas and religious institutions surround it, one run by Sayeed Munib Ahmad al-Imam and another by Sheikh Abdullah Ahmad Muhammad.
The mosque was founded in 20 AH (640/641 CE), after the spread of Islam in Iraqi Kurdistan, during the era of the second Caliph Umar. It was renovated and reconstructed several times; the latest renovation was in 1965, carried out by the Ministry of Endowment and Religious Affairs with the help of locals and ulamas. It is one of the oldest mosques in Iraq.
The mosque is named in Arabic as al-Jami' al-Kabir and stands in Akrê, not Duhok. Friday prayers, the two Eid prayers and the five daily prayers are held there, and religious scholars and students visit it from abroad. A religious school and an Islamic sciences institute granting diplomas adjoin it.
Visitors can view the mosque from the outside or enter during open hours according to local customs and guidelines. The structure is easy to locate from the bazaar and sits in the city center.
The mosque's imams and preachers include Sheikh Ibrahim bin al-Hajj Muhammad Rashka, one of its best-known scholars. Today an official religious school run by Munib Ahmad al-Imam and an institute of Islamic sciences directed by Sheikh Abdullah Ahmad Muhammad award diplomas beside the prayer hall.
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