Umm Al-Qura Mosque, Baghdad Travel Guide

The Umm Al-Qura Mosque, whose name translates to 'Mother of All Cities,' stands as a prominent landmark in Baghdad, Iraq. Initially named Umm al-Ma'arik ('Mother of All Battles'), it was conceived as a monument to former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's perceived triumph in the Gulf War (1990-1991), serving as a personal tribute to him. The mosque is located in the al-Adel area in western Baghdad, a region with a predominantly Sunni population.The mosque's construction cost approximately $7.5 million. Its foundation stone was laid on April 28, 1998, coinciding with Saddam Hussein's 61st birthday, and it was formally inaugurated on April 28, 2001, marking the tenth anniversary of the Gulf War. Architectural features and the surrounding complex contain allusions to Saddam Hussein and the Gulf War. The mosque has eight minarets, with the four inner minarets said to resemble Kalashnikov rifle barrels, while the four outer minarets are described as looking like Scud ballistic missiles.While initially the city's largest place of worship for Sunni Muslims , the Umm Al-Qura Mosque has also become a refuge for those fleeing conflict in the Anbar Province and houses a Shi'a hawza. In the aftermath of Saddam Hussein's fall in 2003, the mosque was briefly controlled by the Association of Muslim Scholars, a Sunni group. There is also a museum on site displaying the evolution of Islam.