RELIGIONS NEWS AGENCY (REDNA) – Following the last Friday earthquake, a famous mosque in Marrakesh was destroyed.
The destruction of the mosque which was a rich Islamic heritage in Marrakesh has been outlined by Dr Corisande Fenwick, professor of Islamic archaeology at University College, London.
A 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck below a cluster of villages in the Atlas mountains south of Marrakesh, killing more than 2,000 people and injuring a further 2,400.
Dr Fenwick told BBC Radio 4’s Sunday programme that Amazigh villages in the Atlas mountains had been flattened and the Tin Mal Mosque, built in earth and stone by a medieval dynasty in the 12th century, had been almost completely destroyed with only a few walls standing.
In Marrakesh, one of the most important cities in the Islamic world where the old city known as the Medina has become a UNESCO World Heritage site, the minaret of the iconic Koutoubia mosque cracked after dramatically swaying.
In the Jemaa el-Fna square, many buildings toppled into the street and the minaret of a smaller mosque collapsed, with walls demolished.
The Jewish quarter in the city, which traces its origin to the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492, was also devastated.
Islamic Relief and other aid agencies have launched appeals as efforts continue to find survivors and provide basic humanitarian help for the thousands of people whose homes have been destroyed and who are now living on the streets.