Ghazaliya (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

: الغزالية) is a neighborhood in the western outskirts of

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, in the city's

Mansour district Al Mansour ( ar, المنصور) is one of the nine administrative districts in Baghdad, Iraq. It is in western Baghdad and is bounded on the east by Karkh district in central Baghdad, to the north by Kadhimiya, to the west by Baghdad Internation ...

. To the north of Ghazaliya is the neighborhood of

Al-Shu'ala Al-Shu'ala is a lower middle class district of Baghdad, Iraq. It is heavily populated and its inhabitants are working class families of limited income. There is a Shiite Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It ...

, to the east is

Al-Adel

Al Khadhraa Al Khadhraa is a neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to ...

, and to the west is Abu Ghraib. It is a working-class neighborhood of about 100,000 residents. Ghazaliya is situated around six major streets that all end at farms that formerly belonged to

Uday Hussein Uday Saddam Hussein ( ar, عدي صدام حسين; 18 June 1964 – 22 July 2003) was an Iraqi politician and the eldest son of Saddam Hussein. He held numerous positions as a sports chairman, military officer and businessman, and was the head ...

, the son of

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...

Etymology

It is believed to be named after the name of woman she was with her sister the owners of the land her name was Ghazaliya she was owning half of the land. Her sister named Junyina and she was owning the other half of the land. Till 1990's the name of the city was Ghazaliya and Junyina. Then became Ghazaliya name called on both lands.

History

Ghazaliya was built in the Mid-1980s and was home for many military officers during Saddam Hussein's rule. It was a middle to high class area of mainly Sunni Muslims with some

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mo ...

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

and others. Saddam hid here during the first

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

. That place where Saddam had hidden was turned into the largest mosque in Baghdad which was named Um Al-Maarik mosque. After the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 the Shia named it Um Al-Baneen for about 7 months then the Sunnis took back the control of the mosque and named it جامع أم القرى

Umm_al-Qura_Mosque The Umm al-Qura Mosque ("Mother of All Cities") is a mosque located in Baghdad, Iraq. It was the city's largest place of worship for Sunni Muslims, but it has also become the location of a Shia hawza and a place of refuge for many fleeing the te ...

. . When Sunni–Shia conflict flared in Iraq following the February 2006 al-Askari Mosque bombing in Samarra, Shia militias pushed into Ghazaliya from neighboring

. Sunnis turned to Al-Qaeda in Iraq and Shia families fled. Ghazaliya's mixed community split into a Sunni southern section and a Shia northern section. The US Army built concrete walls to segregate the two communities and to create a secure perimeter.

References

{{Administrative districts in Baghdad

Ghazaliya Ghazaliya (Arabic: الغزالية) is a neighborhood in the western outskirts of Baghdad, Iraq, in the city's Mansour district. To the north of Ghazaliya is the neighborhood of Al-Shu'ala, to the east is Al-Adel, to the south is Al Khadhraa, and ...

1980s establishments in Iraq