A spirit of openness was fostered in what is now Iraq under the patronage of Abbasid rulers, who led from the front in their pursuit of knowledge at the peak of the Islamic Golden Age
Tag: Iraq
Bayt al-Hikmah: Forgotten Pillar Of Muslim Contributions To Science
Academic powerhouse Bayt al-Hikmah (House of Wisdom) carried the global light of learning in Baghdad for centuries as a centrepiece of the Islamic Golden Age
Iraq Diaries: Remnant Of Golden Age, One Of World’s 1st Varsities
A tapering gateway of inscriptions and geometric themes now leads to Mustansiriya University, one of the world’s oldest universities which survived the Mongol onslaught, floods, and manmade and natural calamities that claimed much of Baghdad’s heritage over centuries
Iraq Diaries: Universal Appeal Of King of Saints, Faith Reviver
12th-century saint Sheikh Abdul Qadir Gilani is an integral part of the spiritual life in my native Kashmir, the Himalayan Valley he never visited over 4,000 km from his burial site in Baghdad
Iraq Diaries: Qadiriyya Sufi Order’s Therapeutic Mother Shrine
A theological college within the walls of Baghdad’s old city became the Qadiriyya Sufi Order’s mother shrine when the 12-century saint Sheikh Abdul Qadir Gilani was buried there
Abdul Qadir Gilani: Saint Watching Over Baghdad’s Island Of Calm
Sunnis, Shias, Kurds, and Christians continued living cheek by jowl rebuffing the toxic mix of religion and politics inside the warrens of Bab al-Sheikh, drawing inspiration from the 12th-century saint Sheikh Abdul Qadir Gilani, whose final resting place is located there By Sameer Arshad Khatlani In 2006, a bomb ripped through the Askari Mosque in … Continue reading Abdul Qadir Gilani: Saint Watching Over Baghdad’s Island Of Calm
Iraq Diaries: Ringside View Of Tigris In Cradle of Civilization
The Sinak Bridge in Baghdad offered a breathtaking view of the snaking Tigris in the Cradle of Civilization, where pivotal technological innovations such as writing, the wheel, and irrigation originated
Green Zone: Surreal Dystopia Where Iraqis Felt Unwelcome
While they kept Iraqis away, Americans let their hair down in the pool, gazebos, and palm tree-shaded garden of Saddam’s Republican Palace, which was known as Iraq’s White House, in the Green Zone
Iraq Diaries: Ruins, Palaces And Cult Of Saddam Hussein
Executed former Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussain projected his unbridled power like other demagogues through the size, bombast, and grandeur of his palaces meant to constantly remind people of his riches, omnipresence, and permanence
Iraq Diaries: From Loadstar To City Under Siege
The violence had begun to ebb by 2016 but corroded car bomb hulks, and abandoned, bombed out and bullet-riddled buildings represented the horrors Baghdad, the city of about seven million, had suffered