By Libya Herald reporter.
Tripoli, 23 April 2015:
A bomb exploded early this morning before dawn prayers at the Quds mosque in Tripoli, causing . . .[restrict]structural damage but no casualties.
The reason for the explosion is unknown. Reports speak of it being a Sufi shrine, suggesting that there was a Sufi tomb in the mosque. But the building on the Quds roundabout at the beginning of the Airport Road, with its well known minaret capped with what was intended to look like a giant artillery shell, is relatively modern and has no known Sufi connections.
However, there are also unconfirmed reports of opposition to the decoration in the mosque from Islamists who wanted the marble there removed.
A large number of historic mosques in Tripoli have been, attacked, vandalised or even completely destroyed by Islamists in the past two and a half years, as have also other cultural artefacts, such as statues, with the authorities doing nothing to stop it or, as is widely believed, tacitly condoning it.
The Quds Mosque remains strongly associated in local minds with the Ghargour Massacre of Novermber 2013, when demonstrators demanding the removal of Misrata forces from Tripoli were shot at. Thirty seven were killed and over 200 wounded. The protestors had gathered at the square beforehand with many going into the mosque to pray. [/restrict]
