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Revision as of 17:36, 7 September 2006 by Amoruso (talk | contribs) (→[], Kashmir – The “Second []”)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The Third holiest site in Islam is a disputed question.
While the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem is largely branded as the third holiest site in the Muslim world, there are sources which challenge this view. Other Muslim holy sites which are also classed as “third holiest” include:
Imam Ali Mosque, Iraq
It is commonly reported in the worlds media that the Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf, Iraq, is the third holiest site for the estimated 130 million followers of the Shiite branch of Islam worldwide – approximately 10 percent of total Muslims. It is estimated that only Mecca and Medina receive more Muslim pilgrims.
The Guardian described Najaf, as the third holiest place of Shi'ite Muslims The Boston Globe reports “for the world's nearly 120 million Muslim Shiites, Najaf is the third holiest city, behind Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. The CNN website states: “the Shiite the city of Najaf, Islam's third holiest city after Mecca and Medina and home to the Tomb of Imam Ali, cousin of the Prophet Muhammad and father of Karbala's Husayn ibn Ali”. Referring to Najaf, ShiaNews.com describes it as “the place is the burial site of Islam’s second most important figure and third holiest shrine”
On the website of The Virtual Center for Interdisciplinary Studies of the Islamic World, a division of the University of Georgia, under Miscellaneous Relevant Links, it cites a link to a news story “about Iraqi troops using the shrine of Ali in Najaf and about the instructions given to American troops not to damage the shrine, which, after Mecca and Medina, is the holiest city for Shiites.” And “American authorities have not taken an active public role in the mosque investigation because of Iraqi sensitivity to any US presence at the Najaf shrine. The mosque is the most sacred Shiite shrine in Iraq and the third holiest in the world after Mecca and Medina” (last section on page)
IslamicTouism goes further and bypasses Medina stating “Najaf, home to the shrine of Imam Ali, the cousin of the Prophet Mohammed, is Muslim Shiites second holiest site after Mecca in Saudi Arabia”.
Imam Husayn Shrine, Iraq
Naples Daily News reports that “for Shia Muslims ever since, Karbala has stood as one of the holiest of sites, on par with Jerusalem for the Jews, Calvary for Christians and Mecca for all Muslims”.
Public Broadcasting Service portrays Karbala as follows: “…For Shiites, his tomb is the holiest site outside of Mecca and Medina, and many make the pilgrimage there -- up to a million pilgrims visit the city to observe Ashura, the anniversary of Husayn's death”.
channel4.com states: “The holy city of Karbala, situated 100 km south of Baghdad, derives its name from the ancient Babylonian meaning "sacred place of God" from the two shrines it houses of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Husayn and his brother 'Abbas. Shia Muslims consider this to be one of the holiest places in the world second only to Mecca and Najaf.
Al Askari Mosque, Iraq
Talking to the BBC, Robert Hillenbrand, the professor of Islamic Art at Edinburgh University, said that the Al Askari Mosque in Samarra "may not be of enormous architectural importance, but is of immense spiritual importance for hundreds of millions of Shia Muslims". He went on to say that “In a Christian context the shrine would equate in spiritual importance to the burial place of St James at Santiago de Compostela.” St James at Santiago de Compostela is considered the third holiest site in Christendom.
Time Magazine reported at the time of the Al Askari Mosque bombing that “al-Askari one of Shiite Islam's holiest sites, exceeded in veneration only by the shrines of Najaf and Karbala. Even Samarra's Sunnis hold al-Askari in high esteem. The expression 'to swear by the shrine' is routinely used by both communities".
Rawze-e-Sharif, Afghanistan
Situated in Mazar-e Sharif, Afghanistan, Rawze-e-Sharif, also known as The Blue Mosque, is believed by a minority of Muslims, mainly Afghans, to be the resting place of Ali, son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad. It is described by the International Security Assistance Force as third holiest site in Islam.
Hala Sultan Tekke, Cyprus
According to the United Nations Development Programme, Islam’s third sacred holy site after the Kaaba in Mecca and the Mosque of the Prophet in Medina, is Hala Sultan Tekke, or Umm Haram in Cyprus, which has long been the destination of Muslim pilgrims.
A certain Professor Bowen completed an assessment of the environmental and cultural assets of Cyprus as a senior Fulbright scholar. He stated: “In the south is the city of Lamaka … Just outside the city is the location of the Hala Sultan Tekke Mosque, the third holiest place for Muslims in the world.
There are also a number of Islamic websites which state: “Cyprus is also home to the highly venerated Hala Sultan Tekke shrine - many consider it the third holiest shrine of Islam. Like the shrine in Mecca, it too has a black rock, said to have fallen as a meteorite as part of the tritholon over the shrine. The shrine is also to a woman named Umm Haram, the alleged foster mother of the prophet”, while IslamDefenders.com states: "Umm Haram's shrine was claimed to be the third most important pilgrimage site in the Muslim world, especially after 1787, when a tekke, an informal Ottoman monastery, was established close to the tomb" and “She was buried in that spot... Her shrine, the third holiest in the Moslem world after Mecca and Medina...”
Many Cypriot holiday and property websites also name Hala Sultan Tekke as the third holiest site in the Muslim world.
Al Juwana Mosque, Saudi Arabia
According to the faculty handbook of the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals , the site of the second Friday prayer performed by Muhammad at the Jawatha (Al Juwana) Mosque, is the third holiest site after Mecca and Medina. (pg. 19)
Takht-i-Suleiman, Iran
A tenuous claim by certain travel websites state that “for Central Asian Muslims Takht-i-Suleiman is the third most sacred place after Mecca and Medina. At the summit an ancient mosque built by Bobur in 1510 still operates”. (Day 23)
Hazratbal shrine, Kashmir – The “Second Medina”
The official website of Jammu and Kashmir Government, India describes the Hazratbal shrine as the most important Muslim shrine of Kashmir, which contains the Moi-e-Muqqadus, (the sacred hair) of Muhammad. The shrine is cited by the Government website as being known by five names including Madinat-us-Sani (The Second Medina). This is also noted on the website of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front The very fact of this shrine being commonly known as “The Second Medina” raises the notion that this may be considered the third holiest site in Islam.
Dargah Sharief, India
Another interesting mention of a seemingly holier site than the Al Aqsa compound is Dargah Sharief in Ajmer by a tourist website which states that the tomb of the Sufi saint Khwaja Moin-ud-din-Chisti (1140-1235), is the most famous Muslim pilgrimage center in India. It is considered the second holiest pilgrim site after Mecca - it is believed that seven pilgrimages to Ajmer equal one to Mecca.
Kairouan, Tunisia
By 670, the Arabs had taken Tunisia, and by 675, they had completed construction of Kairouan, the city that would become the Arab base in North Africa. Kairouan would also become the third holiest city in Islam in the medieval period, after Mecca and Medina, because of its importance as the centre of the Islamic faith in the Maghrib.
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