Hujr ibn Adi Mosque

A shrine in the Damascus suburb of Adra built over the traditional grave of Hujr ibn Adi, a companion of the Prophet and steadfast supporter of Imam Ali who publicly refused to join in the Umayyad-mandated cursing of Ali from mosque pulpits. He was executed along with several companions on the orders of Mu'awiya around 660 CE. On 2 May 2013, during the Syrian civil war, the shrine was destroyed and the grave desecrated by Jabhat al-Nusra fighters, who claimed to have exhumed and relocated his remains; those who carried out the act later admitted under arrest that no body had actually been found inside the tomb. The destruction was widely condemned across the Muslim world and prompted protests in several countries.