Najaf or An-Najaf or Al-Najaf or An-Najaf al-Ashraf, is a city in central Iraq about 160 km south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2024 is about 1.41 million people. It is the capital of Najaf Governorate. It is widely considered amongst the holiest cities of Shia Islam and one of its spiritual capitals, as well as the center of Shia political power in Iraq. It is reputedly the burial place of Muhammad's son in law and cousin, ‘Alī ibn Abī Tālib. It is also the location of the largest cemetery in the world, Wadi-us-Salaam, of one of the most important seminaries in the Shi'i Islamic world, and a major pilgrimage destination for Shia Muslims.
The Saladin, Salah ad Din or Salah Al-Din Governorate is one of Iraq's 19 governorates, north of Baghdad. It has an area of 24,363 square kilometres (9,407 sq mi), with an estimated population of 1,042,200 people in 2003. It is made up of 8 districts, with the capital being Tikrit. Before 1976 the governorate was part of Baghdad Governorate.
Samarra is a city in Iraq. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Saladin Governorate, 125 kilometers (78 mi) north of Baghdad. The modern city of Samarra was founded in 836 by the Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tasim as a new administrative capital and military base. In 2003 the city had an estimated population of 348,700. During the Iraqi Civil War, Samarra was in the "Sunni Triangle" of resistance.
Karbala or Kerbala is a city in central Iraq, located about 100 km (62 mi) southwest of Baghdad, and a few miles east of Lake Milh, also known as Razzaza Lake. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governorate, and has an estimated population of 711,530 people (2018).
Kufa, also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about 170 kilometres (110 mi) south of Baghdad, and 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Currently, Kufa and Najaf are joined into a single urban area that is mostly commonly known to the outside world as 'Najaf'.
The history of Islam in Iraq goes back almost 1,400 years to the lifetime of Muhammad. Iraq's 98% majority Muslims follow two distinct traditions: Shia Islam and Sunni Islam.
Religion in Iraq dates back to Ancient Mesopotamia, particularly Sumer, Akkad, Assyria and Babylonia between circa 3500 BC and 400 AD, after which they largely gave way to Syriac Christianity and later to Islam.
Iraq's 18 governorates are subdivided into 120 districts (kaza).
Turkmeneli, also known as Turkmenland, and historically as Turcomania,, and East Turkmeneli is a political term used to define the vast swath of territory in which the Iraqi Turkmens historically have had a dominant population. The term incorporates the Iraqi Turkmen homelands running from Iraq's border with Turkey and Syria and diagonally down the country to the border with Iran. It is sometimes referred to as East Turkmeneli to distinguish from the Syrian Turkmen homeland, known as West Turkmeneli.
Both Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims agree on the three holiest sites in Islam being, respectively, the Masjid al-Haram, in Mecca; the Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, in Medina; and the Al-Masjid al-Aqsa, in Jerusalem.
Shia Islam in Iraq has a history going back to the times of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the first imam of Shia Islam and fourth caliph of Sunni Islam who moved the capital of the early caliphate from Medina to Kufa two decades after the death of Muhammad. Today, Shia Muslims make up 55-60% of the Iraqi population. Iraq is the location of the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, pilgrimage sites for millions of Shia Muslims.
Shaal Pir Baba was a Sufi saint who was also a leader of the Moudodi Syed's in Balochistan and Sindh, today's Pakistan.
Erbil, also called Hawler, is the capital and most populated city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The city is in the Erbil Governorate.
Deliberate destruction and theft of cultural heritage have been conducted by the Islamic State (IS) since 2014 in Iraq, Syria, and to a lesser extent in Libya. The destruction targets various places of worship under IS control and ancient historical artifacts. In Iraq, between the fall of Mosul in June 2014 and February 2015, IS had plundered and destroyed at least 28 historical religious buildings. Valuable items from some buildings were looted in order to smuggle and sell them to foreigners to finance the running of the Islamic State.
Shia Muslims have been persecuted by the Islamic State, an Islamic extremist group, since 2014. Persecutions have taken place in Iraq, Syria, and other parts of the world.
Al-Atabat Al-Aliyat Al-Atabat Al-Aliyat, which is also known as Al-Atabat Al-Muqaddasa are the shrines of six Shia Imams which are in four cities of Iraq, namely Najaf, Karbala, Kadhimiya and Samarra; and actually the whole of these Imams' shrines (graves) are called Atabat Aliyat. The mentioned cities have significance due to shrines of those six Shia Imams who have been buried there.
The Imam Saad bin Aqil' Shrine is located at Tal Afar, Iraq. The 12th-century shrine contains the tomb of Saad ibn Aqil, a descendant of Aqeel ibn Abi Talib and the governor of Upper Mesopotamia.
