Al-Kazimiyya Mosque

Al-Kazimiyya Mosque, also known as the Jawadayn Shrine, is a major Shia holy site in the Kādhimiya suburb of Baghdad. It contains the mausoleums of the seventh Imam, Musa al-Kazim, and the ninth Imam, Muhammad al-Jawad. The shrine also holds the tombs of the scholars Shaykh Mufīd and Shaykh Naṣīr ad-Dīn aṭ-Ṭūsi, and adjacent smaller shrines belong to Sayyid Raḍī, Sayyid Murtadā, and Qadi Abu Yusuf al-Ansari.

Don't miss

• Two gold-covered domes, each 25 meters high, decorated inside with Islamic motifs and Qur’anic verses.
• Four large gold-covered minarets rising 35 meters above the ceiling, plus four smaller minaret-shaped towers.
• The two shrine rooms connected by a rectangular corridor with six doors, featuring niches and alcoves that reduce material weight.
• The outer walls contain half-open iwans and open rooms for religious students, with mirror decorations symbolizing paradise.
• The rectangular layout measures 140 meters north-south and 135 meters east-west, including the al-Rawdah area.

Tickets & tours

Ways to visit Al-Kazimiyya Mosque

Getting there

Know before you go

• The mosque is located northwest of central Baghdad in the Kādhimiya suburb.
• The site includes the tombs of historical scholars Shaykh Mufīd and Shaykh Naṣīr ad-Dīn aṭ-Ṭūsi, plus adjacent shrines for Sayyid Raḍī, Sayyid Murtadā, and Qadi Abu Yusuf al-Ansari.
• The mosque has been targeted in multiple terrorist attacks since 2003, including bombings during Ashura commemorations and Friday prayers.
• The forecourts have been expanded, but the expansion has been criticized for demolishing over 130 old archaeological sites, traditional houses, and Ottoman landmarks.

A bit of history

The mosque was built on a Quraysh cemetery created with the Round City of Baghdad in 762 CE. The cemetery was founded by Abbasid Caliph al-Mansur for his family. The seventh imam was buried there in 799, and the ninth imam in 834. The current building dates to a restoration by Safavid Shah Ismail I (1502–1524) and was further ornamented by Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent after 1534. In 1611, Sultan Ahmed I granted custodianship to the al-Jamali family. During the 1920 Iraq Revolt, the mosque hosted national gatherings against the British.