Posts tagged unesco

Ahead of UN Day on October 24, we are sharing stories of how the UN makes a difference around the world. Here’s a story from our colleagues working with UNESCO in Iraq.

By Parvine Ghadami and Hiba Sha’ath, UNESCO-Iraq 

Built in 836 AD to replace Baghdad as the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate, the city of Samara is an important pilgrimage centre for the Shi’a community, hosting millions of pilgrims every year. It is located on the outskirts of Samara Archaeological City, designated by UNESCO in 2007 as a World Heritage Site in Danger. It is renowned for the Al Askari Shrine, containing the mausoleums of the tenth and eleventh Shia Imams, as well as the shrine of Muhammad al-Mahdi, the twelfth and final Imam of the Shia’s. 

In 2006 and 2007, the Shrine was gravely damaged by successive bombings, resulting in the destruction of the building’s golden dome, minarets and nearly all of the retaining structure. This wanton act of destruction against such a visible symbol of the Shia community quickly sparked widespread violence across the country. In the days following the 2006 bombing, hundreds of people were killed and some 200 mosques were destroyed in sectarian fighting, 50 in Baghdad alone. National and religious authorities, as well as the international community, quickly condemned the acts and called for a “full commitment to rebuild all the damaged mosques.” 

Following the bombing of the Shrine, the former Director-General of UNESCO, Mr. Koïchiro Matsuura, stated forcefully the Organization’s commitment to work with the Government of Iraq to protect and restore the historical, spiritual and cultural heritage of the Askari Shrine as a “cornerstone of the rebuilding of the country and a decisive step on the road towards national reconciliation.” 

In 2006, the UNESCO-Iraq Office began implementing a project for the restoration of the Al-Askari Holy Shrine in Samara. With support from the European Union, which allocated US $5.4 million for the reconstruction of the site through the UN Development Group Iraq Trust Fund, and the Government of Iraq, which contributed an additional US $3 million, UNESCO took on the task to restore it. The project commenced once the city had been secured by national authorities. UNDP joined the effort as a partner, carrying out related works in Samara to lessen tension and help restore livelihoods. 

The project began with urgent works to protect and clean the site, classifying and storing architectural elements. It also included training for Iraqi architects and engineers on using technical equipment, and on follow-up and monitoring of the restoration, with training provided by Istanbul’s International Centre for Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property. 

Through these preventative works, the project provided short/medium-term employment to more than 600 local residents and strengthened national capacity to perform similar work on other damaged sites. Perhaps more importantly, the initiative became a visible symbol of reconciliation and cooperation between communities, demonstrating to the country that despite ongoing violence, there was a continued Iraqi-led effort to protect national identity and safeguard tolerance. 

To leverage the work on the Shrine, UNESCO, in close collaboration with Samara authorities, organized a visit in February 2009 for nearly 500 intellectuals and religious leaders from Karbala, Najaf and Kazemyah, the most important Shia cities in Iraq, to Samara to start a dialogue of peace and collaboration with the predominantly Sunni residents of the city. 

Currently an active site of worship hosting thousands of pilgrims each month, the Shrine has become a powerful symbol of social and economic renewal and the ongoing reconciliation process in the country, as much as its bombing was used as a powerful symbol of division. The message of tolerance implicit in its reconstruction is being transmitted daily to thousands, and the active cooperation between religious communities since the project’s outset has provided, even in the darkest days, a rallying point around which those who rejected violence and hatred could coalesce. 

As Mahmood Khalef Ahmad, Samara’s Sunni mayor, stated, “National reconciliation started here when the people asked for help in rebuilding the Askari Shrine. What we have achieved here should be a clear example to other provinces in Iraq.”