Early Monday, an agreement to restore Al Nuri Mosque in Mosul, Iraq, was signed by the UN's cultural agency UNESCO, the UAE, and Iraq during a meeting in Baghdad's National Museum, Gulf News reported.
As part of the initiative to rebuild the 12th-century historic mosque, UAE's Culture Minister Noura Al Kaabi declared that the UAE is donating 185 million dirhams ($50.4 million) for the plan.
"The five-year project is not just about rebuilding the mosque, the minaret and the infrastructure, but also about giving hope to young Iraqis," Al Kaabi said, according to Gulf News.
Iraq's Culture Minister Faryad Rawanduzi, UNESCO's Iraq representative Louise Haxthausen, and Al Kaabi signed what was dubbed "a historic partnership, the largest and unprecedented cooperation to rebuild cultural heritage in Iraq ever," by UNESCO Director-General, Audrey Azoulay.
Haxthausen emphasized the importance of this project, saying "this is an ambitious, highly symbolic project for the resurrection of Mosul and Iraq."
The first year of the five-year project will focus on cleaning the area from ruins and debris, while "historic gardens will be rebuilt" along with "a memorial and museum," according to Reuters.
As claimed by Iraqi government estimates, the city of Mosul requires around $2 billion of reconstruction aid, in a way to "unblock streets and rebuild destroyed homes" as reported by Reuters.
Al Nuri Mosque, well-known for "its eight-century-old leaning minaret," was a victim of terrorist group ISIS' vandalism and demolition round last year.
In a scarce public appearance by ISIS leader, Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, in July 2014, his speech centered on the declaration of a "caliphate" and took place at Al Nuri Mosque.
The mosque gained its name from Nur al-Din Mahmoud Zangi, "a Turkic ruler of Mosul and Aleppo who ordered its construction in 1172, two years before his death."
Nur al-Din was successful in unifying Muslim forces in the face of Christian Crusaders, materializing the idea of jihad against aggressors.
Ever since, the religious and historic meaning of this mosque grew popular amongst believers and historians.