february 2007
the sayeda zaynab mosque is one of the most important shi'a shrines outside of iraq. this mosque is built around the casket that holds zaynab, ali's daughter. muhammad had no male heirs, and first cousin ali is the closest (especially since he married muhammad's daughter fatima -- yes, his 1st cousin, once removed -- and so begot muhammad's only first male descendants, hassan and husayn). 'ali is considered to be the first child to become a muslim (when he was about 10). 'ali is said to have written equisitely in arabic, and that his heart carried a unique generosity and compassion. 'ali is in this way special to all muslims because he was the only one to continue the line of muhammad's family.
but 'ali is especially admired by shia' muslims. why? they expected 'ali to succeed muhammad after he died. but instead, muhammad's companion, long-time friend -- almost a partner in shaping islam at it's beginning -- succeeded him as the first caliph... his name was abu bakr.
those partisan to 'ali, for his blood ties to muhammad, have since then felt cheated about the decision to favor abu bakr over 'ali. they became known as shia' 'ali, which literally means: those partisan to 'ali.
there is too much more to write about this, and the way the story is narrated is heavily political.
believe it or not, 'ali and his family are worshipped by some almost as dieties themselves (the alawite, the religion of the syrian president bashar alasad, are said to treat 'ali almost as a christ). sometimes 'ali and his family are illustrated pictorially (which is unusual in sunni islam). many people have compared the symbolism of the martrydom of 'ali to the crucifixion of jesus.
this area of damascus is mostly inhabited by shi'a, and this particular shrine is visited by iraqi and iranian shia' pilgrims yearly.
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the minaret, where the mu'ethen sings the call to prayer. notice the megaphones, as well as the ayat from the qur'an that wraps around it decoratively. the colors and unique gold decorations are some of the remarkable features that distiguish this mosque among others.
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the columns are wrapped in black because of the festival of ashura, which is a holiday that laments the death of 'ali's son. it's famous for people flogging themselves & crying in mourning (the reason of the mosque wrapped in black). i feel like john esposito used a picture of this spot for the cover of his book "the islamic threat." i think there is something uniquely persian about these arches, but i'm not expert enough in art history to explain why. i can still appreciate it though.
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for some reason i thought of the 1920s movie metropolis when i saw this clock. i think it was put there so people would know prayer times precisely. still, it's kind of like mosqueoplis.
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that's 'ali's daughter zaynab in the middle. muhammad's granddaughter! hi zaynab!
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