PB issues decree appointing governor for Najaf

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Iraqi Presidential Board (PB) on Tuesday issued a decree appointing Adnan Abd Khudeir al-Zarfi governor of the province of Najaf. “Based on the decisions taken by the Najaf provincial council in line with article 7 of the law on provinces no. 21 of the year 2008, Adnan Abd Khudeir al-Zarfi was appointed as governor of Najaf,” according to a PB release as received by IraqiNews.com news agency. 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. SS (P) 1