Kazimain
Encyclopedia
al-Kāżimiyyah is a town located in what is now a northern neighbourhood of Baghdad
, Iraq
about five kilometres from the city center. Al-Kāżimiyyah is one of nine administrative districts in Baghdad
.
Al-Kāżimayn is regarded as a holy city
in Shī‘ah Islām. It received its name (lit. "the Two Kāżims" or "the Two who swallow their anger"), for the two Shī‘ah Imām
s buried there: Mūsā al-Kādhim
and his grandson and successor Shī‘ah Imām Muhammad at-Taqī. A shrine was first built over their tombs, and subsequently the al-Kadhimiya Mosque.
The area that now constitutes al-Kāżimiyyah was originally the location of a graveyard reserved for members of the Quraish tribe. This land was set aside for this purpose by the Abbasid
caliph, Harun al-Rashid
.
In its early history, the town was an important center of Shia learning, perhaps the main center, but over time the town declined, and other cities rose to prominence. The location of the city has lent it to numerous plunders, that have resulted in damage to its shrines at different times in history. Among the most damage ever experienced by the town was after the Mongol
sack of Baghdad
where the shrine of the Shia Imams was burnt down. The area was also an important center of resistance
against the British after World War I
.
officials and Mahdi Army
that US forces would not come within 1,000 meters of the shrine.
Camp Justice (also known as "Camp Al-Adala") is a joint Iraqi-American military base. The location was renamed from "Camp Banzai" in mid-September 2004 as part of an effort to give Army facilities around Baghdad friendlier names. Camp Justice was the location of the 2006 execution of Saddam Hussein
; the 2007 hanging
of Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti
, Awad Hamed al-Bandar
, and Taha Yassin Ramadan
; and the 2010 hanging of Saddam's cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid
, a.k.a. Chemical Ali.
The former president of Iraq, Saddam Hussein
was executed at approximately 03:00 UTC
on December 30, 2006. Two weeks later on January 15, 2007, Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti
, former head of the Iraqi Intelligence Service
, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar
, former head of the Iraqi Revolutionary Court, were also executed by hanging at this site.
Saddam's former deputy and former vice-president, Taha Yassin Ramadan
(who was originally sentenced to life in prison on November 5, 2006, but had it changed to a death sentence three months and a week later), was likewise hung here on March 20, 2007, two months and five days after Barzan's and al-Bandar's execution. Likewise Saddam's cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid
(Chemical Ali) was hanged on January 25, 2010 (three years and about a month after his cousin's execution), after receiving four death sentences.
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
about five kilometres from the city center. Al-Kāżimiyyah is one of nine administrative districts in Baghdad
Administrative districts in Baghdad
There are nine administrative districts in the city of Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, that correspond to the nine district advisory councils. The Baghdad Security Plan used these nine districts as the nine security districts....
.
Al-Kāżimayn is regarded as a holy city
Holy city
Holy city is a synonym applied to many cities, all of them central to the history or faith of specific religions. Such cities may also contain at least one headquarters complex which constitutes a major destination of human...
in Shī‘ah Islām. It received its name (lit. "the Two Kāżims" or "the Two who swallow their anger"), for the two Shī‘ah Imām
Imamah (Shi'a doctrine)
Imāmah is the Shia doctrine of religious, spiritual and political leadership of the Ummah. The Shīa believe that the A'immah are the true Caliphs or rightful successors of Muḥammad, and further that Imams are possessed of divine knowledge and authority as well as being part of the Ahl al-Bayt,...
s buried there: Mūsā al-Kādhim
Musa al-Kadhim
' was the seventh of the Twelve Imams of Twelver Shi'a Islam. He was the son of Imam and his mother was Hamidah Khātūn, a student and former Zanjiyyah slave...
and his grandson and successor Shī‘ah Imām Muhammad at-Taqī. A shrine was first built over their tombs, and subsequently the al-Kadhimiya Mosque.
The area that now constitutes al-Kāżimiyyah was originally the location of a graveyard reserved for members of the Quraish tribe. This land was set aside for this purpose by the Abbasid
Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate or, more simply, the Abbasids , was the third of the Islamic caliphates. It was ruled by the Abbasid dynasty of caliphs, who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphate from all but the al-Andalus region....
caliph, Harun al-Rashid
Harun al-Rashid
Hārūn al-Rashīd was the fifth Arab Abbasid Caliph in Iraq. He was born in Rey, Iran, close to modern Tehran. His birth date remains a point of discussion, though, as various sources give the dates from 763 to 766)....
.
History
Mongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
sack of Baghdad
Battle of Baghdad (1258)
The Siege of Baghdad, which occurred in 1258, was an invasion, siege and sacking of the city of Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate at the time and the modern-day capital of Iraq, by the Ilkhanate Mongol forces along with other allied troops under Hulagu Khan.The invasion left Baghdad in...
where the shrine of the Shia Imams was burnt down. The area was also an important center of resistance
Iraqi revolt against the British
The Iraqi Revolt against the British , or the Great Iraqi Revolution of 1920, started in Baghdad in the summer of 1920 with mass demonstrations of both Sunni and Shia, including protests by embittered officers from the old Ottoman army, against the policies of British Acting Civil Commissioner Sir...
against the British after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Baghdad Security Plan
During the Baghdad Security Plan of 2007, there were rumours that U.S. forces built walls around the Imam al-Kadhim mosque. According to Iraqslogger.com, the protests that resulted were due to an agreement between Iraqi securityIraqi security forces
Iraqi security forces is a U.S. Department of Defense term for all security forces of the Federal government of Iraq. They consist of the following organizations:*Ministry of Defence **Iraqi Armed Forces:*** Iraqi Army*** Iraqi Air Force...
officials and Mahdi Army
Mahdi Army
The Mahdi Army, also known as the Mahdi Militia or Jaish al-Mahdi , was an Iraqi paramilitary force created by the Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in June 2003....
that US forces would not come within 1,000 meters of the shrine.
Camp Justice
Execution of Saddam Hussein
The execution of Saddam Hussein took place on December 30, 2006 . Saddam was sentenced to death by hanging, after being found guilty and convicted of crimes against humanity by the Iraqi Special Tribunal for the murder of 148 Iraqi Shi'ite in the town of Dujail in 1982, in retaliation for an...
; the 2007 hanging
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
of Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti
Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti
Barzan Ibrahim al-Hasan al-Tikriti was one of three half-brothers of Saddam Hussein, and a leader of the Mukhabarat, the Iraqi intelligence service...
, Awad Hamed al-Bandar
Awad Hamed al-Bandar
Awad Hamad al-Bandar was an Iraqi chief judge under Saddam Hussein's presidency. He was the head of the Revolutionary Court which issued death sentences against 143 Dujail residents, in the aftermath of the failed assassination attempt on the president on July 8, 1982 Awad Hamad al-Bandar ...
, and Taha Yassin Ramadan
Taha Yassin Ramadan
Taha Yasin Ramadan al-Jizrawi was a prominent Iraqi Kurd, serving as Vice President of Iraq from March 1991 to the fall of Saddam Hussein in April 2003....
; and the 2010 hanging of Saddam's cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid
Ali Hassan al-Majid
Ali Hassan Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti , , was a Ba'athist Iraqi Defense Minister, Interior Minister, military commander and chief of the Iraqi Intelligence Service...
, a.k.a. Chemical Ali.
The former president of Iraq, Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
was executed at approximately 03:00 UTC
Coordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
on December 30, 2006. Two weeks later on January 15, 2007, Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti
Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti
Barzan Ibrahim al-Hasan al-Tikriti was one of three half-brothers of Saddam Hussein, and a leader of the Mukhabarat, the Iraqi intelligence service...
, former head of the Iraqi Intelligence Service
Iraqi Intelligence Service
The Iraqi Intelligence Service , also known as the Mukhabarat, General Directorate of Intelligence, or Party Intelligence, was the main state intelligence organization in Iraq under Saddam Hussein...
, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar
Awad Hamed al-Bandar
Awad Hamad al-Bandar was an Iraqi chief judge under Saddam Hussein's presidency. He was the head of the Revolutionary Court which issued death sentences against 143 Dujail residents, in the aftermath of the failed assassination attempt on the president on July 8, 1982 Awad Hamad al-Bandar ...
, former head of the Iraqi Revolutionary Court, were also executed by hanging at this site.
Saddam's former deputy and former vice-president, Taha Yassin Ramadan
Taha Yassin Ramadan
Taha Yasin Ramadan al-Jizrawi was a prominent Iraqi Kurd, serving as Vice President of Iraq from March 1991 to the fall of Saddam Hussein in April 2003....
(who was originally sentenced to life in prison on November 5, 2006, but had it changed to a death sentence three months and a week later), was likewise hung here on March 20, 2007, two months and five days after Barzan's and al-Bandar's execution. Likewise Saddam's cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid
Ali Hassan al-Majid
Ali Hassan Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti , , was a Ba'athist Iraqi Defense Minister, Interior Minister, military commander and chief of the Iraqi Intelligence Service...
(Chemical Ali) was hanged on January 25, 2010 (three years and about a month after his cousin's execution), after receiving four death sentences.
See also
- AdhamiyahAdhamiyahAl-Adhamiyah , also Azamiya, is a neighborhood and east-central district of the city of Baghdad, Iraq....
- Holiest sites for ShiaHoliest sites in Islam (Shia)In addition to the three Mosques accepted by all Muslims as holy sites, Shī'ah Muslims consider sites associated with Muhammad, his family members and descendants , their companions, and the Prophets as holy places...
- List of places in Iraq
- List of neighborhoods and districts in Baghdad