Rounded Analysis On Contested Issues; Spotlighting Blind Spots; Politics, Religion, Travel, Books
Shrines of Prophet Muhammad's grandson Imam Hussain in Karbala and his father, Imam Ali, in Najaf funded the Saraya al-Atabat and deployed them for their protection as well as to fight ISIS
Mukhayyam al Husayni Mosque, over 400 metres from Imam Hussain's shrine, stands at what is believed to be the site of the encampment of the Prohet's grandson and his family during the Battle of Karbala
The Prophet’s grandson, Imam Hussain, opposed the undermining of basic Islamic values of egalitarianism, justice, and equity, triggering the Battle of Karbala that ended with his massacre along with 72 of his companions and family members in the month of Muharram
Once considered unsophisticated, hookah, whose origins are disputed with some claiming it originated in India, has become integral to the Middle East’s café culture, and gained popularity in the West, too
Iraq’s religious leaders issued a statement in March 2020 repudiating and condemning the violence of ISIS while underscoring the terror group's crimes impacted members of all religions
Shah Rukh Khan, India's biggest film star, defines the potential of Indian soft power in unlikely places such as Iraq where hardly anyone even understands the language of his films
The Imam Hussain shrine in Iraq's Karbala was packed as usual around the forenoon when we waded through a large crowd of people, who jostled to kiss its walls as a customary mark of reverence
Millions of devotees march through Iraq to reach the holy city of Karbala to mark the end of the 40-day mourning period of Prophet Muhammad's grandson Hussain, making Arbaeen the world's biggest annual pilgrimage
Karbala, where the shrine of the Prophet's grandson Hussain has stood for centuries as a symbol of resistance against tyranny, was in 2016 fittingly the nerve centre of the war on terror group ISIS
Abraham is believed to have first heard God’s voice in Ur, which is not just an example of Iraq’s storied past but also of how Abrahamic religions are joined at the hip
