Muharram 23 marks anniversary of first horrific act of bombing al-Askariyayn Shrine by extremist Sunnis
The shrine of Imam Hadi, and his son, Imam Hassan al-Askari, the 10th and 11th Imam is located in the city of Samarra, and receives millions of pilgrims every year.
This holy place has been attacked and desecrated several times by the enemies of Ahlul-Bayt throughout history. It was blown up and partially destroyed by extremist Sunnis in two stages in 1384 and 1386 AH.
In addition to political reasons, the motive of radical Sunnis and Wahhabi elements for this religious terrorism is rooted in their ideology. From a political aspect, this movement fulfilled the sinister goals of the governments and main supporters of these groups. From a religious viewpoint, it manifests the Wahhabi beliefs that pilgrimage and building graves is unislamic.
Ibn Taymiyyah considers the construction of graves as haram and their destruction as obligatory. Based on this belief, and goaded by the fatwa of their mufti, in 1344 A.H. Wahhabis destroyed all the historical monuments of Baqi cemetery including the holy shrines of Imam Hassan al-Mojtaba, Imam al-Sajjad, Imam Muhammad al-Baqir and Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (peace be upon them).
After these destructions, Shiites all over the world immediately announced their readiness to restore the Holy Shrine in Samarra and sent exquisite gifts and cash donations. The restoration ended in the year 1394 AH.
It is necessary to mention that al-Askariyayn Shrine in Samarra embraces the holy graves of two Shia imams, Imam al-Hadi and Imam Hasan al-Askari, peace be upon them, as well as Lady Narjes Khatun, the mother of Imam Mahdi, and Lady Hakima Khatun, the daughter of Imam Jawad, peace be upon them. Also, Lady Samaneh, the mother of Imam Hadi, Lady Susan, nicknamed Salil or Hadith, the mother of Imam Hassan al-Askari, and a number of other members of the Ahlul-Bayt, peace be upon them, are buried in the basement of the holy shrine.
