As bombs fall silent, Iraqi city rebuilds Oct 3, 2008
The money from the thousands of tourists who once flocked to the Askariya Shrine where two descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, Imam Ali al-Hadi and Imam Hassan al-Askari, are said to be buried provided income for one-fourth of Samarra's residents, Abbas said. Scheherazade Shihab, 29, an English teacher from Baghdad, says that she now feels safe in Samarra, safe enough to visit her family for Id al-Fitr, something she has been unable to do for two years. (International Herald Tribune)
Sunni mosque blown up in southern Iraq Jun 17, 2007
Several Sunni mosques have been attacked or burned down since insurgents Wednesday blew up two minarets of the Imam Ali al-Hadi shrine in Samarra City, some 120 north of Baghdad. In February 2006, the holy shrine's famous golden dome was destroyed which triggered a wave of retaliatory sectarian violence, pushing the country to a full-scale sectarian clashes. (Xinhuanet, China)
Reprisals hit Iraq Sunni mosques Jun 15, 2007
AL-ASKARI SHRINE FACTS One of the four major Shia shrines in Iraq Contains tombs of two of the 12 revered Shia imams - Ali al-Hadi and al-Hassan al-Askari First developed during the 10th and 11th Centuries Two 36m-high golden minarets destroyed in June 2007 68m-high golden dome blown up in February 2006. An official in the prime minister's office said the curfew in Baghdad would be lifted on Saturday. (BBC News -- Africa)
Analysis: Attacks strike at heart of Shia faith Jun 14, 2007
The shrine is also known as the Imam Ali al-Hadi and Imam Hasan Al-Askari mosque, named for the 10th and 11th imams of Shia Islam and two of the 14 Infallibles. The two ninth-century imams, father and son, are buried in the mosque. (MSNBC -- International)
Calm urged amid Iraq shrine bombs Jun 14, 2007
One of the four major Shia shrines in Iraq Contains tombs of two of the 12 revered Shia imams - Ali al-Hadi and al-Hassan al-Askari First developed during the 10th and 11th Centuries Two 36m-high golden minarets destroyed in June 2007 68m-high golden dome blown up in February 2006 ... Part of the Imam Ali al-Hadi mausoleum, the shrine contains the remains of the 10th and 11th imams, reputed to be direct descendants of the Prophet Muhammad ... Imam Ali al-Hadi died in 868 AD and his son,... (BBC News)
Blasts at Iraq's Askariya shrine Jun 14, 2007
" The bombing in Feruary 2006, which destroyed the mosque's golden dome, triggered nationwide Shia and Sunni sectarian clashes. The Askariya contains the tombs of the tenth and eleventh imams, Ali al-Hadi, who died in 868, and his son Hassan Askariya, who died in 874. Descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, Shias consider the two imams among his natural successors. Source: Al Jazeera and agencies Related: (23 Feb 2006) Tools: Top news MIDDLE EAST news MIDDLE EAST news. (Aljazeera.Net)
Revered Iraqi Shiite shrine bombed again Jun 14, 2007
The mosque houses the remains of the 10th and 11th imams - Ali al-Hadi and Hassan al-Askari - buried in the house where they died in the ninth century around which the shrine was built. AFP. (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
Iraq: two Samarra minarets toppled Jun 14, 2007
Unidentified insurgents destroyed with explosives at about 9 a.m. (0500 GMT) two minarets of the Imam Ali al-Hadi shrine, whose Golden Dome was destroyed in February 2006 which triggered a wave of retaliatory sectarian violence, a local policeman told Xinhua by telephone ... On Feb. 22, 2006, the Shiite shrine of Ali al-Hadi, also called the Golden Mosque, was attacked with a bomb, with its 100-year-old Golden Dome badly damaged ... The shrine of Ali al-Hadi is one of the four most revered... (Xinhuanet, China)
Explainer: How Do Muslims Rank Holy Sites?click to play audio Jun 14, 2007
Samarra rounds out the top four shrines, with the tombs of the 10th imam, Ali al-Hadi, and his son the 11th imam, Hasan al-Askari. Shiites also believe that the 12th imam, Imam al-Mehdi, went into hiding in Samarra, and that he will someday return there to offer salvation to Islam. (Slate)
Fallout From the Mosque Blast Jun 14, 2007
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki(R) speaks and inspect the destroyed holy Shiite shrine of Ali al-Hadi and Hassan al-Askarri in Samarra, Iraq, June 13, 2007. EPA Article Tools. (Time.com)
Minarets destroyed at Shia shrine Jun 13, 2007
The mosque holds the tombs of the 10th and 11th imams - Ali al-Hadi, who died in 868, and his son Hassan al-Askari, who died in 874. Both are descendants of Muhammad, and Shias consider them to be among his successors. (Guardian Unlimited -- World)
Blast hits revered Shi'ite shrine in Iraq's Samarra Jun 13, 2007
Two of the 12 revered Shi'ite imams are buried in the Samarra shrine -- Imam Ali al-Hadi, who died in 868 and his son, the 11th imam, Hasan al-Askari, who died in 874. Iraq's Shi'ite-led government has blamed Sunni Islamist al Qaeda for the attack on Feb. 22 last year, when militants entered the Golden Mosque in Samarra at dawn and set off charges that destroyed its dome, one of the biggest in the Islamic world. (AlertNet)
A Look at Shiite Shrine in Samarra Jun 13, 2007
The shrine contains the tombs of the 10th and 11th Shiite imams who lived more than 1,200 years ago, Ali al-Hadi and his son, Hassan al-Askari. The compound also is near the place where the last of the 12 Shiite imams, Mohammed al-Mahdi, disappeared. (Newsday -- World)
Minarets blown up at revered Iraq Shi'ite shrine Jun 13, 2007
Two of the 12 revered Shi'ite imams are buried in the Samarra shrine -- Imam Ali al-Hadi, who died in 868 and his son, the 11th imam, Hasan al-Askari, who died in 874. DOME DESTROYED. (The Star Online, Malaysia -- News)
FACTBOX-Golden Mosque in Iraq's city of Samarra Jun 13, 2007
Two of the 12 revered Shi'ite imams are buried in the Samarra shrine -- Imam Ali al-Hadi, who died in 868 and his son, the 11th imam, Hasan al-Askari, who died in 874. Shi'ites believe the 12th imam, Imam Mehdi, known as the hidden imam, went into hiding from a cellar in the complex in 878. (Reuters AlertNet)
Rubble-strewn dome stands as monument to year of sectarian violence in Iraq Feb 22, 2007
The Askariya mosque contains the tombs of the 10th and 11th imams -- Ali al-Hadi, who died in 868, and his son Hassan al-Askari, who died in 874. Both are descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, and Shiites consider them to be among his successors. (North County Times)
Shrine's destruction carved path of violence Feb 14, 2007
Two-hundred years later, a Sunni caliph, Abu Ishaq al-Mutasim ibn Harun, worried about a possible Shi'ite insurrection, brought two direct Shi'ite descendants of the prophet, Ali al-Hadi and his son, Hassan al-Askari, to Samarra. They died under house arrest, believed to have been poisoned by Mutasim. (Boston Globe)
