Al-Askari Shrine
Al-Askari Shrine, the 'Askariyya Shrine, or Al-Askari Mosque is a Shia Muslim mosque and mausoleum in the Iraqi city of Samarra 125 km (78 mi) from Baghdad. It is one of the most important Shia shrines in the world. It was built in 944. The dome was destroyed in a bombing by Sunni extremists in February 2006 and its two remaining minarets were destroyed in another bombing in June 2007, causing widespread anger among Shias and instigation of the Iraqi Civil War between the country's Shia and Sunni factions. The remaining clock tower was also destroyed in July 2007. The dome and minarets were repaired and the mosque reopened in April 2009.
| Al-'Askarī Shrine | |
|---|---|
Arabic: مَرْقَد ٱلْإِمَامَيْن عَلِيّ ٱلْهَادِي وَٱلْحَسَن ٱلْعَسْكَرِيّ Marqad al-ʾImāmayn ʿAlī al-Hādī wal-Ḥasan al-ʿAskarī | |
Al-Askari Mosque in 2021 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Shia Islam |
| Rite | Shia (Twelver) |
| Ecclesiastical or organisational status | Mosque and shrine |
| Status | Active |
| Location | |
| Location | Samarra, Iraq |
Location in Iraq | |
| Geographic coordinates | 34.1989°N 43.8735°E |
| Architecture | |
| Completed | 944 AD |
| Destroyed |
|
| Specifications | |
| Dome(s) | 1 |
| Dome height (outer) | 68 metres (223 ft) |
| Dome dia. (outer) | 20 metres (66 ft) |
| Minaret(s) | 2 |
| Minaret height | 36 metres (118 ft) |
| Spire(s) | 1 (destroyed) |
| Shrine(s) | 3 |
The 10th and 11th Shī'īte Imams, 'Alī al-Hādī ("an-Naqī") and his son Ḥasan al-'Askarī, known as al-'Askariyyayn ("the two 'Askarīs"), are buried in the shrine. Housed in the mosque are also the tombs of Ḥakīma Khātūn, sister of 'Alī al-Hādī; and Narjis Khātūn, the mother of Muḥammad al-Mahdī. Adjacent to the mosque is another domed commemorative building, the Serdab ("cistern"), built over the cistern where the Twelfth Imam, Muḥammad al-Mahdī, first entered the Minor Occultation or "hidden from the view"—whence the other title of the Mahdi, the Hidden Imam.