Southern Iraq
Southern Iraq includes Basra, Muthana, Najaf, Qadisiyah, Dhi Qar, and Maysan Governorate (southeastern).
The major cities are Basra, Nasiriyah, Najaf, Samawah, Diwaniyah, and Amarah.
Southern Iraq is almost entirely populated by Shia Arabs, with a minority of Mandaeans, Assyrians, Sunnis, and Kurds.[1]
Demographics[edit]
Basra Governorate[edit]
The vast majority of Basra are ethnic Arabs who follow Shia Islam. In addition to Arabs, there are Mandaeans, Assyrians, Faili Kurds, and Afro-Iraqis, also known as Zanj.
Basra is a major Shia city, with the old Akhbari Shia Islam progressively being overwhelmed by the Usuli Shia Islam. The Sunni Muslim population is small and decreasing, as more Iraqi Shias move into Basra for various job or welfare opportunities, as well as the Sunni population leaving the city.[2]
Some Assyrian Christians also live in Basra, a significant number of them are refugees fleeing persecution from ISIS, or descendants from refugees who fled from persecution by the Ottoman Empire. Ever since the defeat of ISIS in Iraq, many Christians have returned to their homeland in the Nineveh Plains. There are about a few thousand Christians in Basra.[3]
Mandaeans, one of the largest communities of pre-Islamic Iraq, live in the city, whose headquarters was in the area formerly called Souq al-Sheikh.[4][5]
Najaf Governorate[edit]
Najaf Governorate is made up of Arabs who follow Shia Islam.
Najaf Governorate includes the cities of Najaf and Kufa, two of the most famous Shia cities[11]
Najaf and Kufa are considered sacred by Shi'a Muslims. Najaf is renowned as the site of the burial place of Prophet Muhammad’s son in law and cousin, Imam ‘Alī ibn Abī Tālib. The city is now a center of pilgrimage throughout the Shi'ite Islamic world. It is estimated that only Mecca and Medina receive more Muslim pilgrims. As the burial site of Shi'a Islam's second most important figure,[12] the Imam Ali Mosque is considered by Shiites as the third holiest Islamic site.[21]
The Imam Ali Shrine is housed in a grand structure with a gold gilded dome and many precious objects in the walls. Nearby is the Wadi-us-Salaam cemetery, the largest in the world.[22] It contains the tombs of several prophets and many of the devout from around the world aspire to be buried there, to be raised from the dead with Imām ‘Alī on Judgement Day. Over the centuries, numerous hospices, schools, libraries and convents were built around the shrine to make the city the center of Shīʻa learning and theology.
The Najaf seminary is one of the most important teaching centres in the Islamic world. Ayatollah Khomeini was a teacher there from 1964 to 1978.[23] Many of the leading figures of the Shi'ite Islamic movements that emerged in Iraq, Iran and Lebanon in the 1970s had studied at Najaf.[24]
Maysan Governorate[edit]
Maysan Governorate has a Shia Arab majority and a small population of Mandeans and Christians. It is covered in the south by many Mesopotamian Marshes, and has traditionally been home to many Marsh Arabs.[25]
Qadisiyah Governorate[edit]
Qadisiyah Governorate is made up of Shia Arabs, which also include Marsh Arabs. It has a small Mandean population.[26]
Dhi Qar Governorate[edit]
Dhi Qar Governorate is mostly Shia Arabs. It has a large population of Marsh Arabs who live in the southern marshes. Dhi Qar also has a small population of Mandeans and Christians.[27]
Muthana Governorate[edit]
Muthana Governorate has a predominantly Shia Arab with a small Mandean and Assyrian population. It had a lot of Jews until they were killed or left for Israel.[28]
Geography and climate[edit]
Southern Iraq entirely has a Hot desert climate and is almost entirely lowlands, with some marshes in the southeast, right before the Tigris river and Euphrates river meet.[29]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20131211223618/http://www.joshuaproject.net/countries.php?rog3=IZ
- ↑ https://merip.org/2007/03/basra-the-reluctant-seat-of-shiastan/
- ↑ https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2019/08/basras-chaldean-church-renovated-but-seldom-visited.html
- ↑ https://hdi.globaldatalab.org/areadata/shdi/
- ↑ https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6acbd4c.html
- ↑ Cordesman, Anthony H.; Khazai, Sam (4 Jun 2014). Iraq in Crisis. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 319. ISBN 9781442228566. Search this book on
- ↑ Cockburn, Patrick (8 Apr 2008). Muqtada: Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shia Revival, and the Struggle for Iraq (illustrated ed.). Simon and Schuster. p. 146. ISBN 9781416593744. Search this book on
- ↑ Pollack, Kenneth M.; Alkadiri, Raad; J. Scott Carpenter; Kagan, Frederick W.; Kane, Sean (2011). Unfinished Business: An American Strategy for Iraq Moving Forward. Brookings Institution Press. p. 103. ISBN 9780815721666. Search this book on
- ↑ Robinson, Linda (2005). Masters of Chaos: The Secret History of the Special Forces (illustrated, reprint ed.). PublicAffairs. p. 260. ISBN 9781586483524. Search this book on
- ↑ "Ali al-Sistani is Iraq's best hope of curbing Iranian influence. But he is 85 and has no obvious successor". The Economist. 5 December 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
- ↑ [6][7][8][9][10]
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Never Again! Archived 2007-08-05 at the Wayback Machine ShiaNews.com
- ↑ Iran Diary, Part 2: Knocking on heaven's door Asia Times Online
- ↑ Muslim Shiites Saint Imam Ali Holy Shrine – 16 Images Archived 2010-09-05 at the Wayback Machine Cultural Heritage Photo Agency
- ↑ The tragic martyrdom of Ayatollah Al Hakim calls for a stance Archived 2010-09-18 at the Wayback Machine Modarresi News, September 4, 2003
- ↑ Zaman Online, August 13, 2004 Archived October 28, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Why 2003 is not 1991 The Guardian, April 1, 2003
- ↑ Iraqi forces in Najaf take cover in important Shia shrine, The Boston Globe, April 2, 2003. "For the world's nearly 120 million Muslim Shiites, Najaf is the third holiest city behind Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia."
- ↑ Religious rivalries and political overtones in Iraq CNN.com, April 23, 2003
- ↑ Godlas, Alan. "Muslims, Islam, and Iraq". www.uga.edu. Archived from the original on 2011-10-06. Retrieved 2010-10-15. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]
- ↑ Hala Mundhir Fattah; Caso, Frank (2009). A brief history of Iraq. Infobase Publishing. p. 140. ISBN 978-0-8160-5767-2. Retrieved 2010-10-18. Search this book on
- ↑ Ring, Trudy (1996). "Najaf". Global Security. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
- ↑ Mallat, Chibli (2004). The Renewal of Islamic Law: Muhammad Baqer As-Sadr, Najaf and the Shi'i International. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521531221. Retrieved 2009-09-13. Search this book on
- ↑ "Mike, Author at TechBar".
- ↑ https://globaldatalab.org/shdi/shdi/
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ https://globaldatalab.org/shdi/shdi/
- ↑ USAID. "Climate Risk Profile: Iraq". Climatelinks. Retrieved 2019-08-10.
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