Islam in Iraq

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Iraq is home to many religious cities important for both Shia and Sunni Muslims.{{Cite book |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3366/j.ctt16r0j1w |title=The Legacy of Iraq: From the 2003 War to the 'Islamic State' |date=2015 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |isbn=978-0-7486-9616-1 |jstor=10.3366/j.ctt16r0j1w }} Baghdad was a hub of Islamic learning and scholarship for centuries and served as the capital of the Abbasids.{{Cite web |title=Al-Jami'ah: Journal of Islamic Studies |url=https://aljamiah.or.id/index.php/AJIS |access-date=2024-10-12 |website=aljamiah.or.id |ref=Historical significance of Kadhimiya}} Baghdad also is home to two prominent Shia Imams in what is known as Kadhimiya, Iraq. The city of Karbala has substantial prominence in Shia Islam as a result of the Battle of Karbala, fought on 10 October 680. Similarly, Najaf is renowned as the site of the tomb of Alī ibn Abī Tālib (also known as "Imām Alī"), whom the Shia consider to be the righteous caliph and first imām. The city is now a great center of pilgrimage from throughout the Shi'a Islamic world and it is estimated that only Mecca and Medina receive more Muslim pilgrims. The city of Kufa was home to the famed scholar Abu Hanifah, whose school of thought is followed by many Sunni Muslims internationally. Kufa was also the capital of the Rashidun Caliphate during the time of Ali. Likewise, Samarra is also home to the al-Askari Mosque, containing the mausoleums of the Ali al-Hadi and Hasan al-Askari, the tenth and eleventh Shia Imams respectively, as well as the maqam (or "point") of Muhammad al-Mahdi, who is the twelfth and final Imam of the Shia Madhhab. This has made it an important pilgrimage centre for Ja'farī Shia Muslims. In addition, some female relatives of Muhammad are buried in Samarra, making the city one of the most significant sites of worship for Shia Muslims and a venerated location for Sunni Muslims. Iraq was also the place of many the fitnas (schisms) that occurred in the beginning.

The data on the religious affiliation of Iraq's population are uncertain. 95–99% of the population are Muslims. In 2020, the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) estimated that 97% Iraqis followed Islam, with 61% being Shia and 35% Sunni. {{Cite web |title=National Profiles {{!}} World Religion |url=https://www.thearda.com/world-religion/national-profiles?u=111c |access-date=2025-05-21 |website=The Association of Religion Data Archives (the ARDA) |language=en-gb}} An older estimate by the CIA World Factbook reported a 36–39% were Sunni Muslims and 61-64% Shia Muslims.{{cite web|title=CIA World Fact Book|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/iraq/#people-and-society|date=2021-04-21|access-date=2021-04-25}}{{Cite web |title=The World Factbook - The World Factbook |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/ |access-date=2024-12-02 |website=www.cia.gov}} According to a 2011 survey by Pew Research, 51% of the Muslims identified as Shia and 42% as Sunni.{{cite web|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/06/18/the-sunni-shia-divide-where-they-live-what-they-believe-and-how-they-view-each-other/|title=The Sunni-Shia divide: Where they live, what they believe and how they view each other|author=Michael Lipka|date=2014-06-18|access-date=2021-04-15|publisher=Pew Research Center}} David Smock of the United States Institute of Peace stated in 2003 that Shiites constituted about 55-60 percent of the Muslim population and Sunnis represented 35-40 percent.{{Cite web |title=Religious Politics in Iraq |url=https://www.usip.org/publications/2003/05/religious-politics-iraq |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170311104850/https://www.usip.org/publications/2003/05/religious-politics-iraq |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 March 2017 |access-date=2024-04-21 |website=United States Institute of Peace |language=en}}

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In 1968 the Ministry of the Interior had a prohibition on miniskirts, stating that sharia was one reason why.{{cite news|title=Iraqi Girls Warned|publisher=Associated Press|newspaper=The Des Moines Register|place=Des Moines, Iowa|date=1968-12-28|page=7}} - [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/128316466/ Clipping] at Newspapers.com.

File:مسجد الخلفاء في بغداد.jpg|Al-Khulafa Mosque, Baghdad

File:Imam Husayn Shrine by Tasnimnews 01.jpg|Imam Husayn Shrine, Karbala

File:Imam Ali Holy Shrine (Bab Alqibla) main gate 10 Muharram 1435 H.jpg|Shia commemorating Muharam in the holy city of Karbala

File:Meshed ali usnavy (PD).jpg|Imam Ali Shrine, Najaf

File:سامراء Samarra-Wielki Meczet ze spiralnym minaretem - panoramio.jpg|The spiral minaret of the Great Mosque of Samarra

{{Portal|Iraq|Islam}}

• Demographics of Iraq
• Religion in Iraq
• List of mosques in Baghdad
• Iraqi Sunni Arabs
• Iraqi Shia Arabs

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{{Demographics of Iraq}}

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Iraq