Kadhimiya ( ar, ٱلْكَاظِمِيَّة, al-Kāẓimiyyah, ) or Kadhimayn (, ) is a northern neighbourhood of the city 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 ...
. It is about from the city's center, on the west bank of the
Tigris
The Tigris () is the easternmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, and empties into the ...
. 'Kadhimiya' is also the name of one of nine
administrative districts in Baghdad
There are nine administrative districts in the city of Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, that correspond to the nine district advisory councils. The Baghdad Security Plan used these nine districts as the nine security districts.
These were formed in 20 ...
. As the place of
al-Kadhimiya Mosque
Al-Kadhimiya Mosque ( ar, مَسْجِد ٱلْكَاظِمِيَّة, Masjid Al-Kāẓimiyyah) or Al-Kadhimayn Shrine ( ar, حَرَم ٱلْكَاظِمَيْن, Ḥaram Al-Kāẓimayn) is a Shi'ite Islamic mosque and shrine located in the Kād ...
, even before its inception into the urban area of Baghdad, it is regarded as a
holy city
A holy city is a city important to the history or faith of a specific religion. Such cities may also contain at least one headquarters complex (often containing a religious edifice, seminary, shrine, residence of the leading cleric of the religi ...
by
Twelver
Twelver Shīʿīsm ( ar, ٱثْنَا عَشَرِيَّة; '), also known as Imāmīyyah ( ar, إِمَامِيَّة), is the largest branch of Shīʿa Islam, comprising about 85 percent of all Shīʿa Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers t ...
Shia
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...
.
Religious significance and history
* The ''Kāẓimayn'' ("Two who swallow their anger"), from whom the Mosque and area of Kadhimiyyah are named, are the Twelver
Shia Imams
In Shia Islam, the Imamah ( ar, إمامة) is a doctrine which asserts that certain individuals from the lineage of the Prophets in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad are to be accepted as leaders and guides of the ummah after the Succession to M ...
Musa al-Kadhim
Musa ibn Ja'far al-Kazim ( ar, مُوسَىٰ ٱبْن جَعْفَر ٱلْكَاظِم, Mūsā ibn Jaʿfar al-Kāẓim), also known as Abū al-Ḥasan, Abū ʿAbd Allāh or Abū Ibrāhīm, was the seventh Imam in Twelver Shia Islam, after hi ...
and his grandson,
Muhammad al-Jawad
Muhammad ibn Ali al-Jawad ( ar, محمد بن علي الجواد, Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Jawād, – 29 November 835) was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the ninth of the Twelve Imams, succeeding his father, Ali al-Rida. ...
ibn Ali al-Ridha
Ali ibn Musa al-Rida ( ar, عَلِيّ ٱبْن مُوسَىٰ ٱلرِّضَا, Alī ibn Mūsā al-Riḍā, 1 January 766 – 6 June 818), also known as Abū al-Ḥasan al-Thānī, was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the e ...
. The ''
qubur'' ( ar, قُبُوْر, graves) of the ''Kāẓimayn'', and the scholars
Mufid and
Nasir al-Din al-Tusi
Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Tūsī ( fa, محمد ابن محمد ابن حسن طوسی 18 February 1201 – 26 June 1274), better known as Nasir al-Din al-Tusi ( fa, نصیر الدین طوسی, links=no; or simply Tusi in the West ...
, are within the premises of the Mosque.
The area that now constitutes Al-Kāẓimiyyah was originally the location of a graveyard reserved for members of the
Quraysh
The Quraysh ( ar, قُرَيْشٌ) were a grouping of Arab clans that historically inhabited and controlled the city of Mecca and its Kaaba. The Islamic prophet Muhammad was born into the Hashim clan of the tribe. Despite this, many of the Qur ...
. This land was set aside for this purpose by the
Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
caliph
Harun al-Rashid
Abu Ja'far Harun ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi ( ar
, أبو جعفر هارون ابن محمد المهدي) or Harun ibn al-Mahdi (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Harun al-Rashid ( ar, هَارُون الرَشِيد, translit=Hārūn ...
. In its early history, the town was an important center of Shia learning, perhaps the main center, but over time the town declined, and other cities rose to prominence.
* The location of the city has lent it to numerous plunders, that have resulted in damage to its shrines at different times in history. Among the most damage ever experienced by the town was after the
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...
Siege of Baghdad (1258)
The siege of Baghdad was a siege that took place in Baghdad in 1258, lasting for 13 days from January 29, 1258 until February 10, 1258. The siege, laid by Ilkhanate Mongol forces and allied troops, involved the investment, capture, and sack of ...
where the shrine of the Shia Imams was burnt down.
* During the Government of
Midhat Pasha
Ahmed Şefik Midhat Pasha ( ota , احمد شفيق مدحت پاشا, 18 October 1822 – 26 April 1883) was an Ottoman democrat, kingmaker and one of the leading statesmen during the late Tanzimat period. He is most famous for leading the O ...
in the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
, a tramway was built between Baghdad and Kadhiyma in order to transport the pilgrims who traveled to the Shia shrines. The tramway was in service until 1938 when bus services began to be established.
*The area was also an important center of
Iraqi revolt against the British
The Iraqi revolt against the British, also known as the 1920 Iraqi Revolt or the Great Iraqi Revolution, started in Baghdad in the summer of 1920 with mass demonstrations by Iraqis, including protests by embittered officers from the old Ottoman ...
after
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
* Baha'u'llah lived in this section of Baghdad during His exile from Iran, famously dictating the Hidden Words on the banks of the Tigris river
* In 2005, a
stampede
A stampede () is a situation in which a group of large animals suddenly start running in the same direction, especially because they are excited or frightened. Non-human species associated with stampede behavior include zebras, cattle, elephants ...
occurred on
Al-Aimmah Bridge over the Tigris River. About 1000 people were killed.
* Iraqi officials executed
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 ...
at an American operated facility in al-Kāẓimiyyah known as "
Camp Justice".
* Baghdad Security Plan: During
Operation Imposing Law
Operation Imposing Law, also known as Operation Law and Order ( ar, عملية القانون والنظام, translit=amaliat al-qaanoon wa an-nazaam), Operation Fardh al-Qanoon ( ar, فرض القانون) or Baghdad Security Plan (BSP), was a ...
in 2007, there were rumours that
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
' forces built walls around Al-Kadhimiyya Mosque. According to ''Iraqslogger.com'', the protests that resulted were due to an agreement between
Iraqi security officials and the Mahdi Army (now called the
Peace Companies
The Peace Companies ( ar, سرايا السلام, or Saraya al Salam) are an Iraqi armed group linked to Iraq's Shia community. They are a 2014 revival of the Mahdi Army ( ''Jaysh al-Mahdī'') that was created by the Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada a ...
) that US forces would not come within of the shrine.
* Pilgrims to the shrine were
attacked on 30 April 2016, leading to wider protests.
Government and infrastructure
Kadhimiyya Women's Prison is in the area. Women on Iraq's death row are held at the Shaaba Khamsa death row facility at
Camp Justice. As of 2014 the adult women's death row had 36 women as well as children even though the facility was only intended to hold 25 women.
Education
Amil High School for Girls is in this neighborhood.
[Partlow, Joshua.]
For Baghdad's Uprooted Girls, School Offers A Hard Haven
. ''Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
''. February 16, 2007. Retrieved on May 6, 2015.
See also
*
Holiest sites in Shia Islam
Both Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims and Shia Islam, Shia Muslims agree on the three holiest sites in Islam being, respectively, the Masjid al-Haram (including the Kaaba), in Mecca; the Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, in Medina; and the Temple Mount, Al Aqsa Mosqu ...
*
List of neighborhoods and districts in Baghdad
*
List of places in Iraq
This is a list of places in Iraq. Governorates of Iraq lists the governorates, and Districts of Iraq lists the subdivisions of those governorates.
Modern cities and towns
*Afak (عفك)
*Al-Awja, Al `Awja (العوجا)
*Baghdad (ܒܓܕܐ ...
References
External links
New York Times article about the district, May 18, 2007
{{Tigris
Al-Kadhimayn
Administrative districts in Baghdad
Neighborhoods in Baghdad