On June 10, 2014, the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, took control of Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city. Within a single night, the Iraqi Army dissolved, and ISIS assumed command of a city with a history spanning 7,000 years. Omar Mohammed, a historian living in Mosul, chose to stay and document the events, refusing to let the occupying force become the sole narrative of his city's fate.
Initially, Mohammed posted brief updates about the unfolding events on his personal Facebook page. However, a friend warned him of the risks, prompting him to cease public posting. He then created an anonymous blog on WordPress named "Mosul Eye." He chose this name to symbolize an unblinking witness to the city's experience, one that the occupying forces could not silence.
Mohammed's approach was to record facts objectively, adhering to his historian's discipline. He aimed to counter the fabrications and false stories spread by both ISIS and external media. He noted that one ISIS fighter described their advance into Mosul as a planned revenge mission, unexpectedly prolonged by the Iraqi Army's collapse. The fighter framed the event as a religious fulfillment, similar to the liberation of Mecca.
As ISIS established its headquarters, often in former government buildings, propaganda was disseminated. An ISIS video showing killings and kidnappings played continuously on public television sets. On June 21, ISIS issued a loudspeaker announcement demanding households send volunteers to join their forces, threatening death for non-compliance.
Mohammed feared not just military occupation but civil collapse and the destruction of Mosul's historical identity. He observed ISIS systematically dismantling the societal structures that enabled coexistence. Rumors, such as the supposed killing of the Mufti of Mosul, were rampant, and Mohammed worked to verify facts, confirming the Mufti had left the country prior to the crisis.
The historian recognized that falsehood was a weapon. He aimed to document the city truthfully, resisting both the lies of ISIS and exaggerated accounts from outside. On June 24, ISIS began destroying historical and religious sites, including the shrine of al-Fatih al-Mosuli, a Sufi site that had been a place of pilgrimage for over seven centuries. ISIS, with its rigid literalist interpretation of Islam, considered Sufism idolatry and sought to erase these physical markers of the city's past.
Mohammed described his 18 months in Mosul as being under a constant, draining fear of discovery. He stayed because he understood that occupied cities need accurate remembrance. He felt compelled to record the names of executed individuals, the charges against them, the dates, and the public circumstances, alongside everyday realities like the price of bread, the closure of schools, and the burning of libraries. He aimed to prevent the conquerors from dictating the historical narrative.
He did not initially grasp the full extent of what his choice would demand, the depth of concealment required, or the pervasive fear that would become a daily reality. He did not know the names of future leaders, the hardening systems of control, or the number of lives that would be lost and forgotten. He only knew that Mosul was occupied, its memory under attack, and its reality being falsified. He felt that if someone within the city did not begin careful recording, the occupiers would claim not only the streets but also the narrative. Mosul, he observed, had not disappeared but had been subsumed into a new, oppressive order.
This account is adapted from "Mosul Eye: A Scholar’s Clandestine War Against ISIS" published by Skyhorse on July 21.