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Editor's note:
As U.S. and Israeli forces hit Iran, many Shiite Muslims are not only mourning the death of the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but also fearing damage to holy cities and shrines.
Cities such as Qom, Isfahan and Mashhad – which have come under attack – are home to some of the most important sacred sites. In Isfahan, the 17th-century Jame Abbasi Mosque sustained damage during airstrikes. Qom has drawn particular attention due to large-scale attacks, including strikes on its Shokouhiyeh Industrial Zone. The full impact on holy sites remains unclear. Regardless of material damage, Shiites are deploring the assaults.
Scholar of Shiite piety Mary Thurlkill explains that in Shiite Islam, “grief is not only personal but collective.” In Iran’s Twelver Shiite identity, this shared sorrow – rooted in the martyrdom of Imam Husayn, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad – lies at the heart of Shiite devotion. The grief is expressed through rituals and pilgrimages to sacred sites. Qom’s shrine of Fatima Masuma, the daughter of a revered imam in a line of spiritual successors to Muhammad, draws millions of pilgrims annually; nearby Jamkaran Mosque is associated with al-Mahdi, believed to be the "hidden imam" in Twelver Shiism.
This sacred landscape binds Shiites not only with each other but also with the imams – revered leaders from the prophet’s lineage – explaining the powerful reactions seen in Shiite communities across the globe, Thurlkill writes.
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