Iraq: Difference between revisions

The '''Republic of Iraq''' (Arabic:{{iarabic|جمهوریة العراق}}) is a [[Middle East]] country situated in the south west of Asia. The majority of Iraqi people are [[shi'a]] Muslims mostly located in the south of this country. Iraq is mostly important to Shi'a Muslims because of the holy shrines of six Shi'a [[Imams]] in [[Najaf]], [[Karbala]], [[Kadhimiyya]], and [[Samarra]], as well as other significant places such as the [[al-Kufa Mosque]] and [[al-Sahla Mosque]]. Religious leadership and [[Najaf seminary school]].

Originality of Shi'ism in Iraq goes back to time of [[Imam Ali (a)]], where it became expanded and stretched in other territories such as [[Iran]]. Although Shi'ite government were ruling in Iraq, including [[Hamdani]], [[Buyid]] and [[Safavid]], they were merely influential in administrative affairs. However by the time Ottomans established their government, Shi'ite Muslims were removed from political authorities. Then after the occupation of Iraq by British militaries, again Shi'a Muslims played an active role. [[Al-Da'wa party]], an influential political party in Iraq, was founded in that time, which kept shi'a Muslims active and helped them to play a crucial role in achieving independence of Iraq. Also [[Muhammad Taqi Shirazi]], a grand religious scholar, issued a [[fatwa]] of [[Jihad]] against British military soldiers in Iraq.

After the occupation of Iraq by the United States and the fall of [[Saddam]] in 2003, again Shi'a Muslims came back to political stage in Iraq. According to the new constitutional law of Iraq, Prime minister must be chosen from Shi'a Muslims; since then three Shi'a Prime minister of Iraq were chosen from Islamic Da'wa party. Ayatollah [[sayyid Ali al-Sistani]] is regarded the most notable [[marja']] in Iraq. Shi'a Muslims from all over the world visit Iraq in order to make pilgrimage to Imam's shrines in this country. Today, the most populated gathering of Shi'a Muslims is held in [[Karbala]] in [[Arba'in]].

History of Iraq goes back to thousands of years B.C. Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyria, Amorites and Chaldean were among the first civilizations lived in Iraq. Muslims conquered [[Mada'in]] in [[14]]/635-6, then Iraq was dominated and ruled by Muslims in the time of the second caliph, [['Umar b. Khattab]]. In pre-Islamic era, Iraq was part of Persian territory, however after the [[treaty of Zuhab]] between Safavid Empire and the [[Ottoman Empire]], Iraq departed from Persian territory. After the fall of the Ottoman Empire, disputes between Iran and Iraq heated again over the control of Arvand Rud (Shatt al-Arab). [[Iran – Iraq war]] in the time of [[Ba'ath party]] in Iraq, represents the darkest relations between the countries. Nevertheless, after the fall of Saddam, Iran – Iraq relations improved and strengthened, so that Iran supported Iraq in facing the invasion of [[ISIS]] to this country.

Iraq is located in the Middle East and south-east of [[Asia]], neighboring [[Saudi Arabia]] and [[Kuwait]] to the south, [[Jordan]] and [[Syria]] to the west, [[Iran]] to the east and [[Turkey]] to the north. Iraq has a narrow coastline on the northern part of Persian Gulf. The [[Tigris]] and the [[Euphrates]] flow through Iraq from north to south of the country and finally into Persian Gulf. The Arab Federation was founded by Iraq and Jordan in 1958.

The autonomy of the Kurdistan regional government is located in the north of the country, which is neighboring Iran to the east, Turkey to the north, Syria to the east; it includes 5 million people. Iraqi Kurdistan Parliament includes 100 members, a prime minister and a cabinet. 17 percent of total budget of Iraq is allocated to Kurdistan regional government. They speak Kurdish and their official flag is different from the flag of Iraq. [[Erbil]] is the capital of this autonomy region, also Sulaymaniya and Kirkuk are other notable cities there. The [[day of Ashura]] in [[Muharram]] is an official holiday in Kurdistan.

Having important [[Shi'ite]] religious cities, Tourism industry in Iraq is profitable and it plays a crucial role in economy of the country.

Iraqi people are mainly [[Shi'ite]] or [[Sunni]] Muslims. It is estimated that 60% of people are Shi'ite, 37% are Sunni and only 3% are followers of other religions including [[Christianity|Christians]], [[Judaism|Jews]], and Assyrians.

Shi'a Arabs, the bulk of population of Iraq, mainly settle in the south. [[Karbala]], [[al-Diwaniya]], [[Hilla]], [[al-Muntafiq]], [[al-Amara]] and [[al-Kut]] are Shi'ite cities of Iraq. [[Diyala]], [[Baghdad]], and [[Basra]] mainly contain Shi'a Muslims, while they also live in other provinces of Iraq. On the other hand, Sunni Muslims are settled largely in the north of the country. Kurds are settled in mountainous regions in the north east; they are concentrated mostly in [[Sulaymaniya]] and [[Mosul]].