Najaf is a city in Iraq about 160 km south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2008 is 560,000 people. It is the capital of Najaf Governorate. It is widely considered the third holiest city of Shi’a Islam and the center of Shia political power in Iraq. Najaf is renowned as the site of the tomb of Ali ibn Abi Talib also known as “Imam Ali”the First Imam of Shia’s , the cousin and son-in-law of the prophet Muhammad whom the Shia consider to be the righteous caliph.The Najaf area is located 30 km south of the ancient city of Babylon and 400 km north of the ancient Biblical city of Ur. The city itself was reputedly founded in 791 by the Abbasid Caliph Harūn ar-Rashid, as a shrine to Ali ibn Abi Talib. The city is now a great center of pilgrimage from throughout the Shi’a Islamic World. It is estimated that only Mecca and Medina receive more Muslim pilgrims. As the burial site of Shia Islam’s second most important figure, the Imam Ali Mosque is considered by Shias as the third holiest Islamic site. The Imam Ali Mosque is housed in a grand structure with a gold gilded dome and many precious objects in the walls. Nearby is the Wadi-us-Salaam cemetery, reputed to be the largest in the world.

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