The Umm al-Qura Mosque (“Mother of All Cities”) is a mosque located in Baghdad, Iraq. It was the city’s largest place of worship for Sunni Muslims,but it has also become the location of a Shia hawza and the place of refugee for many fleeing the terrorists depredations in the Anbar Province. Originally called the Umm al-Ma’arik (“Mother of All Battles”) mosque, it was designed to commemorate Saddam Hussein‘s self-proclaimed victory in the 1991 Gulf War and was intended to serve as a personal tribute to Saddam himself. It is located in the Sunni-populated al-Adel area of western Baghdad.Costing US$7.5 million to build, the mosque’s cornerstone was laid on Saddam’s 61st birthday on 28 April 1998. It was formally completed on 28 April 2001 in time for the ten-year anniversary of the Gulf War.

Although never confirmed by his regime or himself during his lifetime, there has been speculation that it was intended to have been Saddam’s final resting place.