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Pilgrims Gather Outside the Mosque of Imam Husayn, Karbala’, Iraq
Every year Shi’is remember the martyrdom of Husayn, who was one of the grandsons of the Prophet Muhammad and Imam (principal leader) of Islam for Shi’a Muslims. The mosque in Karbala’ is near the site where he was killed in battle in CE 680. This event accelerated the rift between Muslims who believed that leadership of the Islamic community should rest in the hands of descendents of Muhammad (Shi’is) and those who looked to other criteria for leadership of the community (Sunnis).
Name: Mosque of Imam Husayn, Karbala’, Iraq
Material: Brick, wood, glass, gold
Size: 59/75 m
Date: 684 CE, many rebuilds and reconstructions throughout time
Place of Origin: Karbal, Iraq
Location: Karbal, Iraq
Source and Registration#: Wikimedia Commons. Link to resource
(accessed May 4, 2010).
Material: Digital photograph
Size: 2,464 X 1,632 pixels (1.5 MB)
Date: 2005
Place of Origin: Work of a U.S. Military or a Department of Defense taken during the course of the person’s official duties
Orit Bashkin
Assistant Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History, University of Chicago
