Religious attraction in the holy city of Najaf

Ruqayyah Ahmed Juma

Under the supervision of Lect. Dr. Shaimaa Ne’mah Muhammad

The religious factor represented by the holy shrine is the foundation upon which the city of Najaf was established. The manifestations of religious activity in the city reveal many religious institutions that include shrines, mosques, Husseiniyas, mosques, cemeteries, shrines and religious shrines. This function occupied an area of (11032) hectares, or (0.17%) (¹⁹) of the city’s area. These institutions were established for religious purposes such as performing religious rituals, holding Husseiniya funerals, religious celebrations or jurisprudential study circles held by (245) students of the religious seminary.

The city’s residents paid great attention to religious institutions, which was reflected in the increase in their numbers to give an impression consistent with the religious character of the city, and the basic pillar of the residents’ livelihood is evidenced by the connection of most of their other activities to the activity or effectiveness of these institutions.

The shrine of Imam Ali (peace be upon him) is the first and most prominent religious shrine. The old city, which is the nucleus of the great city of Najaf, was built around it. This center represents the focal point around which various human activities are concentrated. The holy shrine performs religious rituals by the city’s residents to get closer to God Almighty. Thousands of Iraqi and foreign visitors visit it to perform the pilgrimage rituals during religious occasions that are distributed throughout the months of the year. Since its establishment, the shrine has undergone many expansion and reconstruction operations until it reached what it is now. As for the workers in the shrine of Imam Ali (peace be upon him) from the service of the Al-Haidariyah Shrine, their number has reached (4000) people. There are a number of shrines and tombs spread throughout the city, two of which are in Wadi al-Salam Cemetery, four in the old city, and one in the modern neighborhoods area. In 2010, there were (101) mosques, (63) mosques, and (33) Husseiniyas in the city of Najaf. It is clear to us that religious institutions are concentrated near the shrine, with (83) institutions, but in the al-Jadidat area they reach (47) institutions. As for the modern neighborhoods, the density of these institutions rises to (67) religious institutions. This number is considered large compared to their number in 1973, which did not exceed (5) religious institutions. The reason for this is the desire of many residents of the modern neighborhoods to build these institutions to be close to their residential areas, and thus they can perform their religious duties easily.