Online dictionary of Iraq war: Najaf

Japanese version

Najaf alternative words: Al Najaf, An Najaf keywords: town related web sites: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Najaf explanation: An Islamic holy city, located 160km south of Baghdad, Najaf is renowned for the tomb of Ali ibn Abi Talib, a nephew of Prophet and the 4th caliph. The site is particularly venerated by Shia Muslims because they only recognise Ali as successor of Prophet. The town is frequented by Shia scholars such as Ayatollah Khomeini who sojourned 13 years during exiles. The population is at 560,000. Najaf means "high land without waters" in Arabic.