Statue of Abu Ja'far al-Mansur
تمثال أبي جعفر المنصور
LocationBaghdad, Iraq
DesignerKhaled al-Rahal
TypeStatue
Height2.0 metres (6.5 ft)
Completion dateJanuary 1977
Restored dateJune 2008
Dedicated toAbbasid Caliph al-Mansur

The Statue of Abu Ja'far al-Mansur (Arabic: تمثال أبي جعفر المنصور) is a bronze statue of the second Abbasid Caliph Abu Ja'far al-Mansur who was also the founder and builder of Baghdad which he made the capital of the Caliphate. The statue is located on the Karkh side, in the Mansour district of Baghdad.[1]

The Statue is a bronze sculpture of the face of the Abbasid Caliph, mounted on a brick body that forms a small building decorated with Islamic decoration. The statue is located on a small rounded square decorated with trees and herbs.

History

The statue was sculpted by the Iraqi sculptor Khaled al-Rahal, one of the most prominent pioneers of the modern Iraqi artistic movement.[1] It was unveiled on January 6, 1977, by Mayor of the capital, Ibrahim Muhammad Ismail, on the occasion of the celebration of the fifty-sixth anniversary of the founding of the Iraqi army during the reign of Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr.[2]

Modern History

During the US invasion of Iraq, an unidentified gunmen blew up the statue on October 18, 2005. Almost two years after it was blown up, the Baghdad Municipality announced that they will restore the statue in its Baghdadi architectural style.[3][1]

Controversy

Due to al-Mansur's poisoning of Ja'far al-Sadiq, the sixth of the 12 imams revered by the Twelver Shi'ism, and some inherited accounts that remember al-Mansur as a tyrant who brutalized the Shi'a sect, many Shi'a extremists have called for the removal and demolition of the statue, inspired by the American and British activists who destroyed statues of Confederate soldiers and slave traders in the eighteenth century. Tired of the sectarian divisions, youth groups from the Shi'a holy city of Najaf defended the statue as "a symbol of Iraqi heritage".[4]

Shi'a extremist groups and members believed to be backed by Iran have also used Twitter in order to spread the campaign using trends which caused the statue to be heavily guarded by Law enforcement forces.[5][6][7] On June 12, 2021, Iraqi security forces prevented an attempt to destroy the statue by a group of people armed with axes and hammers.[8]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "رأس تمثال المنصور باني بغداد يعود إلى مكانه مجددا". December 2, 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-12-02.
  2. ↑ العدد 2187 - الأحد 31 أغسطس 2008م الموافق 28 شعبان 1429هـ الإرشيف-الوسط
  3. ↑ "مسلحون نسفوا تمثال أبو جعفر المنصور". www.albayan.ae.
  4. ↑ "مجدداً...دعوات في العراق لإزالة تمثال أبي جعفر المنصور". annaharar.com.
  5. ↑ https://www.alquds.co.uk/%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B4%D8%B7%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%B4%D9%8A%D8%B9%D8%A9-%D9%8A%D8%AF%D8%B9%D9%88%D9%86-%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B2%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D9%85%D8%AB%D8%A7%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AE%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%81/
  6. ↑ العزاوي, أنس (2022-05-27). "القوات العراقية تطوق رأس أبو جعفر المنصور بعد دعوات لتحطيمه". الحل نت (in Arabic). Retrieved 2023-07-11.
  7. ↑ "العراق يتخذ أول إجراء أمني بعد دعوات لتحطيم تمثال "أبو جعفر المنصور"". بوابة الأهرام (in Arabic). Retrieved 2023-07-11.
  8. ↑ https://alsharqiya.com/en/news/preventing-an-attempt-to-destroy-the-statue-of-abu-jaafar-al-mansour
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