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The Imam Hasan al-Askari Mosque (Persian: مسجد امام حسن عسگری) is a place of worship for the Twelver Shi'ites that is located in Qom, Iran. It is named for Hasan al-Askari, who is the 11th Imam of the Ahlulbayt and the father of the 12th Imam in Shi'ite traditions. This place of worship is number 1312 in the list of national heritage monuments of Iran.

History

The mosque was built in the 9th century by Ahmad ibn Ishaq Ash'ari Qomi, an Ash'ari theologian and Shi'ite narrator of hadith.^[3] As centuries progressed, the mosque was gradually rebuilt and renovated into a larger form.^[4]^[5] The Safavids renovated the mosque in 1717, but the only trace of this renovation is the southern loggia of the mosque.^[5]^[4] During the Qajar period, a basement and a hall was built in the western side of the mosque in 1869.^[5]^[4] Nine years later, a hall and a basement were added in the western corner of the mosque.^[5]^[4] After the end of the Iranian Revolution, a new reconstruction plan was developed by Mohammad-Reza Golpaygani.^[6] The new mosque was then opened in 2015.^[5]^[4]

Burials

On the south side of the entrance, there is a tomb a notable personality named "Haji Ali al-Naqi", an elderly cleric who assisted in some of the renovation works during the Qajar era.^[4] Before the reconstruction, his tomb was in an old mausoleum with four arches.^[4]

Gallery

Aerial photograph of the mosque from 2018
Front view of the mosque
Inside the mosque
Some chandeliers hanging from the ceiling of a corridor in the mosque
A protest outside the mosque, with the people flashing banners that indicate this protest is only for cultural and not religious purposes
The mosque at night
An angry mob outside the mosque