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 The Al Askari Mosque in Samarra around 1926. The BBC hosts photos of the mosque before and after February 2006 here. The Al Askari Mosque or Al Askari Shrine is a Shiite Muslim holy site located in the Iraqi city of Samarra. It is one of the most important Shiite mosques in the world, with its location dating back to the 9th century. The remains of the tenth and eleventh Shia Imams, Ali al-Hadi and his son Hassan al-Askari rest at the mosque, and it also contains a shrine to the twelfth, or hidden Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi. The site is also known as the shrine of Ali al-Hadi, or the al-Hadhrah al-Askariyah. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...
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Image File history File links View of Sammarra from Nordisk Familjebok. ...
Image File history File links View of Sammarra from Nordisk Familjebok. ...
Shi‘as (the adjective in Arabic is شيعى shi‘i; English has traditionally used Shiite) which mean follower in Arabic make up the second largest sect of believers in Islam, constituting about 30%-35% of all Muslim. ...
A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم) (sometimes also spelled Moslem) is an adherent of Islam. ...
SÄmarrÄ (سامراء) is a town in Iraq. ...
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of the Islamic faith. ...
As a means of recording the passage of time the 9th century was that century that lasted from 801 to 900. ...
Sects Within Shiism there are various sects that differ over the number of Imams, or path of succession. ...
Imam Ali al-Hadi (September 8, 828 _ July 1, 868) was the tenth Shia Imam. ...
This article is about the Shia Imam. ...
Golden dome
The golden dome of the mosque was most recently rebuilt in 1905. [1] A prominent part of the skyline of Samarra, the dome was covered with 72,000 golden pieces and was approximately 20 metres by 68 metres high. 1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...
Bombing  Iraqi troops prepare to storm the Al Askari Mosque, then occupied by insurgents, in October 2004 On February 22, 2006, 6:55 am two bombs were set off by five to seven men dressed as personnel of the Iraqi Special Forces [2] who entered the shrine during the morning.[3]Explosions occurred at the mosque, effectively destroying its golden dome and severely damaging the mosque. Several men, one wearing a military uniform, had earlier entered the mosque, tied up the guards there and set explosives, resulting in the blast. The bombing has instigated nationwide protests in Iraq and several reported counterattacks on Sunnis.[4] February 22 is the 53rd day of every year in the Gregorian Calendar. ...
2006 (MMVI in Roman) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Special forces or special operations forces are relatively small military units raised and trained for special operations missions such as Special Reconnaissance (SR), Unconventional Warfare (UW), Direct Action (DA), Counter-Terrorism (CT), and Foreign Internal Defense (FID). ...
Sunni Islam (Arabic سنّة) is the largest denomination of Islam. ...
No group has taken responsibility for the attack on the mosque. The Jaysh-ul-Fatiheen, one of the Sunni militant groups active in the Iraqi insurgency, has issued a statement condemning the attacks and are suggesting they are not the work of any Sunni group. They cited a recent recorded message by Al-Qaeda's second-in-command Ayman Al-Zawahiri, in which he discourages attacks against Shia shrines. Iraqi militants celebrating orders that the surrounding Coalition forces were given to stand-down. ...
Ayman al-Zawahiri Ayman al-Zawahiri (Arabic: ) (born June 19, 1951) is a prominent member of the al-Qaeda group and formerly the head of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, a terrorist organization. ...
The northern wall of the shrine was damaged by the bombs, the result of which caused the dome to collapse and destroying three-quarters of the structure along with it. [5] [6]
In Najaf, shops were closed, while residents gathered at the city's 1920 Revolution Square for demonstrations. Najaf (Arabic: ) is a city in Iraq, about 160 km south of Baghdad, located at 31. ...
A government organization called the Sunni Endowments which maintains Sunni mosques and shrines condemned the attack.
In Diwaniyah, all mosques, shops and markets were closed [7].
Political reaction
In Iraq Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari has urged Iraqis to stay unified and peaceful, saying the attack was an effort to incite violence. [8] He has also called for three days of national mourning. [9] List of Prime Ministers of Iraq The Prime Minister of Iraq is Iraqs head of government. ...
Ibrahim al-Jaafari Dr. Ibrahim al-Ashaiqir al-Jaafari (Arabic: ) (born 1947) is the Prime Minister of Iraq in the Iraqi Transitional Government following the elections of January 2005. ...
Worldwide UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw called the bombing a "criminal and sacrilegious act", urging Iraqis to show restraint and avoid retaliation. Jack Straw The Right Honourable John Whitaker Jack Straw (born August 3, 1946, Buckhurst Hill) is a British Labour Party politician. ...
Washington's ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad, and the top US commander in the country, Gen George Casey, issued a joint statement saying the US would contribute to the shrine's reconstruction. [10] To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...
General George Casey General George William Casey, Jr. ...
Religious response The office of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who is a senior religious leader in Iraq, has appealed for calm and called for seven days of mourning. [11] Sayyid Ali Husaini Sistani Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Husaini Sistani (Arabic: السيد علي الØسيني السيستاني Persian: سید علی Øسینی سیستانی), born approximately August 4, 1930, is an Iranian Grand Ayatollah, a Shia marja and currently an important person in relation to the occupation of Iraq. ...
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