Grand Mosque Alamam Mwsy Alkazm Lyh Alslam

Along the palm lined waterways of Al Basrah al Qadimah in the Basra governorate of southern Iraq, the Mosque of Imam Musa al Kazim, may peace be upon him, honours the seventh Imam of the household of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, whose life of scholarship, patience under imprisonment, and gentle teaching shaped the spiritual imagination of many generations of Iraqis. The title al Kazim, meaning the one who restrains his anger, reflects the gentle forbearance for which the Imam was revered, and his tomb in the Kadhimiyyah district of Baghdad remains one of the holiest sanctuaries in the Muslim world.

Basra itself was founded by the caliph Umar ibn al Khattab, may God be pleased with him, in 636 of the common era, as a garrison town at the meeting of the Tigris and Euphrates. It grew quickly into a cultural capital of the early Islamic world, producing grammarians like al Khalil ibn Ahmad, theologians like al Hasan al Basri, may God have mercy upon him, and poets whose verses still echo across Arabic literature. The old city, al Basrah al Qadimah, preserves the memory of those early centuries in its canals, covered bazaars, and neighbourhood mosques.

Architecturally the Mosque of Imam Musa al Kazim follows an elegant Iraqi idiom: a tall central dome finished in deep blue glazed tiles and crowned with a brass crescent, two slender minarets rising in three stages with turquoise and gold tilework, and a façade clad in pale brick enlivened by pointed keel arches and Thuluth calligraphy. The inner courtyard is paved with polished marble, with a central fountain for ablution, and the hall is lit by great chandeliers from Isfahan and Baghdad. The mihrab is cut into a niche faced with lustreware tile, and the minbar crafted from walnut set with openwork geometric panels.

Daily prayers, Friday khutbas, commemorations of the martyrdom of Imam Musa al Kazim in the month of Rajab, Muharram mourning assemblies, and Ramadan recitations fill the mosque's calendar, weaving the memory of the seventh Imam into the daily life of Basra's old quarter.