Rounded Analysis On Contested Issues; Spotlighting Blind Spots; Politics, Religion, Travel, Books
Iraqi religious leaders denounced ISIS violence, emphasized its impact on all religious communities, supported justice for victims and survivors and ensured unity in the fight against the terror group militarily and intellectually
The Iraqi clergy effectively tapped into the doctrine of martyrdom in the fight against ISIS by invoking the Battle of Karbala in which the Prophet's grandson Hussain and 72 of his companions and family members laid down their lives resisting an unjust ruler
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
Tikrit was a test case for Iraq’s ability to unite the country after ISIS massacred 1,700 air force cadets, mostly Shia, at Camp Speicher there to drive a permanent sectarian wedge for the Iraqi state’s implosion
Iran built a corridor of influence extending up to the Mediterranean when the US left Iraq in 2011 and left the field open for its archfoe and helped Tehran keep Bashar al-Assad in power in Syria and support Hezbollah in Lebanon
Ahl al-Bayt (people of the Prophet Muhammad's household) are known as nur-e-Muhammadi, or the bearers of his light, as well as his trustees ‘privy to his esoteric and religious knowledge'
Colonnaded thoroughfare Al Rasheed Street was built to commemorate the Ottoman victory in Kut al-Amara during the First World War before the scales tipped in Britain’s favour and the British troops drove Ottomans out with the help of Arabs
12th-century saint Sheikh Abdul Qadir Gilani or Dastageer Sahib is integral to the spiritual life in Kashmir, the Himalayan Valley he never visited over 4,000 km from his burial site in Iraq
The inclusive ethos of Qadiriyya Sufi Order's mother shrine in Baghdad, housing the tomb of 12th-century saint Sheikh Abdul Qadir Gilani, endures transcending cultural, religious, and bridging sectarian divides as a symbol of coexistence and tranquillity
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
