Iranian firm to renew Karbala design

KARBALA / IraqiNews.com: An Iranian company on Thursday won the international tender announced by the Iraqi municipalities & public works to renew the main design of the holy Shiite city of Karbala, according to a ministry spokesman. “Iran’s al-Kawthar company won the new design that should take into account the city’s religious and cultural aspects,” Jassem Mohammed Salim told IraqiNews.com news agency. “Companies from Britain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, Iran, in addition to Iraq all offered their bids for the Iraqi tender,” he added. Karbala, with an estimated population of 572,300 people in 2003, is the capital of the province and is considered to be one of Shiite Muslims’ holiest cities. The city, 110 km south of Baghdad, is one of Iraq’s wealthiest, profiting both from religious visitors and agricultural produce, especially dates. It is made up of two districts, “Old Karbala,” the religious centre, and “New Karbala,” the residential district containing Islamic schools and government buildings. At the centre of the old city is Masjid al-Hussein, the tomb of Hussein Ibn Ali, grandsone of the Prophet Muhammad by his daughter Fatima al-Zahraa and Ali Ibn Abi Taleb. Imam Hussien’s tomb is a place of pilgrimage for many Shiite Muslims, especially on the anniversary of the battle, the Day of Ashuraa. Many elderly pilgrims travel there to await death, as they believe the tomb to be one of the gates to paradise. On April 14, 2007, a car bomb exploded about 600 ft (200 m) from the shrine, killing 47 and wounding over 150. MH (S)/AmR 5