Saudi Arabia Overwhelmingly Leads ALECSO Executive Council Until 2026

Saudi representative Hani Al-Moqbil was re-elected as the Chairman of the Executive Council of ALECSO from 2024 to 2026 (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi representative Hani Al-Moqbil was re-elected as the Chairman of the Executive Council of ALECSO from 2024 to 2026 (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Overwhelmingly Leads ALECSO Executive Council Until 2026

Saudi representative Hani Al-Moqbil was re-elected as the Chairman of the Executive Council of ALECSO from 2024 to 2026 (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi representative Hani Al-Moqbil was re-elected as the Chairman of the Executive Council of ALECSO from 2024 to 2026 (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia won Saturday the chairmanship of the Executive Council of the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) for the third time in a row.

The Kingdom’s representative, Hani Al-Moqbil, was elected president for the 2024-2026 term with an overwhelming majority, securing 18 votes compared to two votes for Morocco.

One member-state abstained from voting. Qatar was elected as the vice president, while Jordan will serve as the rapporteur.

This decision followed a council meeting held after the conclusion of the 27th General Conference of ALECSO, which wrapped up in Jeddah on Friday.

Members praised the positive outcomes and collaborative efforts achieved during Saudi Arabia's previous two presidencies since July 2021.

Arab states on the council highlighted the importance of continuing ALECSO’s forward-looking vision. They praised recent achievements as a major milestone, boosting the organization's role in education, culture, and science across the Arab world.

Saudi Arabia was commended for creating a roadmap that enabled effective collaboration within ALECSO. This teamwork has turned plans into reality, promoting collective efforts, member synergy, and unified execution of initiatives.

Saudi Culture Minister Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan shared on “X” that during Saudi Arabia’s leadership of the ALECSO Executive Council in under three years, they initiated over 10 projects and partnerships. He expressed pride in the Kingdom’s re-election for a third consecutive term.

Established in 1970 and based in Tunis, ALECSO is one of the Cairo-based Arab bloc's organizations that seeks to develop Arab culture, education and science at both national and regional levels.



Mosul’s Renowned Minaret Restored from Ravages of ISIS

A view of the Al-Hadba Minaret in the Great Mosque of al-Nuri, which was rebuilt after it was blown up by ISIS militants, in Mosul, Iraq, February 5, 2025. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily/File Photo
A view of the Al-Hadba Minaret in the Great Mosque of al-Nuri, which was rebuilt after it was blown up by ISIS militants, in Mosul, Iraq, February 5, 2025. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily/File Photo
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Mosul’s Renowned Minaret Restored from Ravages of ISIS

A view of the Al-Hadba Minaret in the Great Mosque of al-Nuri, which was rebuilt after it was blown up by ISIS militants, in Mosul, Iraq, February 5, 2025. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily/File Photo
A view of the Al-Hadba Minaret in the Great Mosque of al-Nuri, which was rebuilt after it was blown up by ISIS militants, in Mosul, Iraq, February 5, 2025. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily/File Photo

Mosul’s Grand al-Nuri Mosque, known for its eight-century-old leaning minaret, destroyed by ISIS militants in 2017, has been renovated in a boost for Iraq's second city as it rebuilds after long years of war.

From the pulpit of this medieval mosque on July 4, 2014, ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a self-styled ‘caliphate’ spanning parts of Syria and Iraq.

Three years later, the ultra hardline group demolished the mosque in the final weeks of a US-backed Iraqi campaign that ousted the militants from Mosul, their de facto capital in Iraq.

Protracted and fierce urban warfare largely reduced the historic landmarks of Iraq's second city to rubble.

Mahmoud Thannon, 70, a tailor who lives near the mosque and runs a tailor shop overlooking the mosque’s minaret, said his two sons were killed before the al-Hadba minaret was demolished.

"When I saw it collapse, I felt even sadder than when I lost my sons," he said. "Watching the Hadba minaret rise again is a joyous day. I feel our pride soaring high as well.”

“My dear martyred sons would be proud to see the minaret rebuilt if they were alive.” said Thannon, speaking inside his shop with images of his two sons hanging behind him.

He broke into tears as he recalled their deaths by shelling in May and June 2017 in the war against ISIS.

Reconstruction and restoration of the mosque and minaret were carried out in partnership with the UN cultural agency UNESCO, the European Union (EU) and the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage.

UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay said over $115 million were mobilized from no less than 15 partners.

“The fact to have it (the minaret) here behind me is like history coming back; is like the identity of this city coming back,” said Azoulay in a speech delivered on February 5 near the mosque to celebrate the completion of the rebuilding work.

The Iraqis called the 150-foot (45-meter) leaning minaret Al-Hadba, or "the hunchback."

The mosque was named after Nuruddin al-Zanki, a noble who fought the early crusaders from a fiefdom that covered territory in modern-day Türkiye, Syria and Iraq. It was built in 1172-73, shortly before his death, and housed an Islamic school.

The Old City's stone buildings, where the mosque is located, date mostly from the medieval period. They include market stalls, a few mosques and churches, and small houses built and rebuilt on top of each other over the ages.