Friday, March 29, 2024

Baghdad

Maliki leaves Najaf after meeting Sistani

NAJAF / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki left Najaf on Friday after meeting top Shiite cleric Sayyid Ali al-Sistani, during which he updated him with the latest developments in Iraq, mainly the security agreement with the U.S., a cabinet’s source said. “The premier told al-Sistani that the ongoing talks on the long-term security agreement realized great progress,” the source told IraqiNews.com. “Al-Sistani for his part welcomed Iraq’s openness to the world and stressed that the government must provide citizens with required services,” he also said. Al-Maliki arrived in Najaf earlier this morning, where he visited Imam Ali tomb and met al-Sistani. Najaf, about 160 km south of Baghdad, has an estimated population of 900,600 in 2008, though this has increased significantly since 2003 due to immigration from abroad. The city is one of the holiest cities of Shiite Islam and the center of Shiite political power in Iraq. Najaf is renowned as the site of the tomb of Ali ibn Abi Taleb (also known as “Imam Ali”), whom Shiites consider to be the righteous caliph and first imam. The city is now a great center of pilgrimage from throughout the Shiite Islamic world. It is estimated that only Mecca and Medina receive more Muslim pilgrims. The Imam Ali Mosque is housed in a grand structure with a gilded dome and many precious objects in its walls. SH (S) 1

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