PM Al-Zaidi donates $10M to Damascus religious sites
Shafaq News- Damascus
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi donated $10 million from his personal funds to two religious sites in Damascus during a visit to the Syrian capital on Wednesday, according to his media office.
The donation includes $5 million for the Sayyida Zainab Shrine and another $5 million for the Umayyad Mosque.
Located south of Damascus, the Sayyida Zainab Shrine is one of Syria’s most important Shia pilgrimage sites and is believed by Shia Muslims to house the tomb of Zainab bint Ali, granddaughter of Prophet Muhammad, daughter of Imam Ali, and sister of Imam Hussein, the third Shia Imam. It attracts pilgrims particularly during Ashura, observed on the 10th day of the Islamic month of Muharram to commemorate Imam Hussein’s killing at the Battle of Karbala in 680. The shrine’s website lists an annual visitor estimate of around 1.3 million, although it does not indicate when the figure was recorded.
On Tuesday, Syrian transitional President Ahmad Al-Sharaa welcomed Al-Zaidi’s visit, announcing that Syria would soon receive Iraqi pilgrims at the Sayyida Zainab Shrine and other religious sites. He stressed that Damascus viewed relations with Baghdad beyond sectarian considerations, pointing to longstanding social ties and shared interests between the two countries.
Read more: Iraq-Syria relations: From caution to pragmatic engagement?
