Why is the Golden Mosque of the Askariya Shrine in Samarra, which was bombed yesterday by Sunni insurgents, so holy among Shia?
The mosque itself was built in many stages. It was first constructed in 944 CE and was reconstructed numerous times over the centuries. But the “golden dome” that has made it famous was built in 1905. The fact that this shrine is located in the predominantly Shiite city of Samarra reminds us of how intertwined Sunni and Shi’a landscapes are in Iraq. Indeed, when I was in Iraq in 2004 one of the most common refrains I heard in meetings with numerous religious leaders on both sides was the strong desire to avert exactly the kind of sectarian war that seems to be in the making today.
