[5] Following the fall of Saddam Hussein in the aftermath of the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, the mosque was taken over by a Sunni group called the Association of Muslim Scholars.

[6] The association became a de facto al-Qaeda ally; its leader Dr. Harith Suleiman al-Dhari, who operated out of the mosque, is said to have played a key role in mobilizing insurgents during the 2004 fighting in Fallujah, west of Baghdad.

Dr. Harith al-Dhari, the preacher of the Mosque at the time, gave a speech denouncing the US-led occupation and democracy.

[3] On 28 August 2011, the mosque was attacked by a suicide bomber during Friday prayers, killing at least 28 people and injuring 30 more.

[8] On April of 28th, 2023, a fire broke out inside the mosque after the burning of three caravans surrounded by weed and plants.

Western observers have described the mosque's eight minarets as resembling weapons, but the Iraqi government rejects that interpretation.

At the center of the pool there stands a 7.5 metres (25 ft) wide mosaic representation of Saddam's thumbprint, inset with an enlarged image of his signature.