Concept
Najaf
Related concepts (16)
Islam
Islam (ˈɪslɑːm; ۘالِإسْلَام, al-ʾIslām ʔɪsˈlæːm, ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centered on the Quran and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam, called Muslims, number approximately 2 billion globally and are the world's second-largest religious population after Christians. Muslims believe that Islam is the complete and universal version of a primordial faith that was revealed many times through earlier prophets such as Adam (believed to be the first man), Ibrahim, Moses, and Isa (Jesus), among others.
Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in the Middle East. It is a federal parliamentary republic that consists of 19 governorates. The country is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and Kuwait to the southeast, Saudi Arabia to the south, Jordan to the southwest and Syria to the west. The capital and largest city is Baghdad. The Iraqi people are diverse; mostly Arabs, as well as Kurds, Turkmen, Assyrians, Armenians, Yazidis, Mandaeans, Persians and Shabakis with similarly diverse geography and wildlife.
Caliphate
A caliphate or khilāfah (خِلَافَة, xi'laːfah) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (ˈkælɪf,_ˈkeɪ-; خَلِيفَة xæ'liː'fæh, ), a person considered a political-religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of the entire Muslim world (ummah). Historically, the caliphates were polities based on Islam which developed into multi-ethnic trans-national empires.
Twelver Shi'ism
Twelver Shīʿism (ٱثْنَا عَشَرِيَّة; DIN), also known as Imāmiyya (إِمَامِيَّة), is the largest branch of Shīʿa Islam, comprising about 85 percent of all Shīʿa Muslims. The term Twelver refers to its adherents' belief in twelve divinely ordained leaders, known as the Twelve Imams, and their belief that the last Imam, Imam al-Mahdi, lives in Occultation and will reappear as the promised Mahdi (المهدي المنتظر). Twelvers believe that the Twelve Imams are the spiritual and political successors to the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
Ali
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last Caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, the successor state to the Islamic prophet Muhammad's political dominions. He is considered by Shia Muslims to be the first Imam, the rightful religious and political successor to Muhammad. The issue of succession caused a major rift between Muslims and divided them into two major branches: Shia following an appointed hereditary leadership among Ali's descendants, and Sunni following political dynasties.
Kufa
Kufa (الْكُوفَة ), also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and 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'. Along with Samarra, Karbala, Kadhimiya and Najaf, Kufa is one of five Iraqi cities that are of great importance to Shi'ite Muslims.
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States–led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 days of major combat operations, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq. Twenty-two days after the first day of the invasion, the capital city of Baghdad was captured by Coalition forces on 9 April 2003 after the six-day-long Battle of Baghdad.
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution (انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân ʔeɴɢeˌlɒːbe ʔiːɾɒːn), or the Islamic Revolution (انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution also led to the replacement of the Imperial State of Iran by the present-day Islamic Republic of Iran, as the monarchical government of Mohammed Reza Pahlavi was superseded by the theocratic government of Ruhollah Khomeini, a religious cleric who had headed one of the rebel factions.
Mashhad
Mashhad (Mašhad mæʃˈhæd), also spelled Mashad, was the capital of Persia during the Afsharid dynasty by Nader Afshar and now is the second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. It serves as the capital of Razavi Khorasan Province and has a population about 3,400,000 (2016 census), which includes the areas of Mashhad Taman and Torqabeh. At the 2006 census, its population was 2,410,800 in 621,697 households.
Qom
Qom (also spelled "Ghom", "Ghum", or "Qum") (قم ɢom) is a city in the Central District of Qom County, Qom province, Iran, and serves as capital of the province, county, and district. It is the seventh largest metropolis and also the seventh largest city in Iran. The city is to the south of Tehran, and on the banks of the Qom River. At the 2006 census, its population was 957,496 in 241,827 households. The following census in 2011 counted 1,074,036 people in 299,752 households.