Region | Iraq
Bridge reopening marks new beginning
The scene was emotional as thousands of Shiites of Al Kadhimiya neighbourhood and thousands of Sunnis of Al Adhamiya neighbourhood crossed the Imams Bridge after more than three years of closure.
- By Basil Adas, Correspondent
- Published: 23:42 November 12, 2008
- An Iraqi Sunni (left) and a Shiite join in the celebrations during an opening ceremony of the Imams Bridge in northern Baghdad.
- Image Credit: AP
Baghdad: The scene was emotional as thousands of Shiites of Al Kadhimiya neighbourhood and thousands of Sunnis of Al Adhamiya neighbourhood crossed the Imams Bridge after more than three years of closure.
In 2005, a stampede incident on the bridge had led to the death of more than 1,000 people.
"I feel like I am crossing into a new stage of relations between Shiites and Sunnis in Iraq...because the Iraqis by opening the bridge are attempting to close the sectarian war page," Salim Al Darraji, an Arabic language teacher at a secondary school in the Al Kadhimiya district, told Gulf News.
The Imams Bridge crosses the Tigris River and connects Shiite and Sunni neighbourhoods on opposite banks. On one side of the bank lies the tomb of the Sunni Imam Abu Hanifa Al Nouman while the other bank connects to the road leading to the shrine of Imam Moussa Al Kadhim, one of the most revered Shiite imams.
"This is a historic day for Iraq and its citizens because this bridge is the basis of religious, social and national connection between Shiites and Sunnis, thus the Shiites had come to our mosque in Abu Hanifa to celebrate the birth of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), and the Sunnis had crossed over to commemorate the death of Imam Moussa Al Kadhim," Hamid Mudaris, a local imam said.
"The day where people cross the Imams Bridge once more, is the day they bid farewell to sectarian warfare," he said.
On September 2, 2005, heavy clashes occurred between Sunnis and Shiites on the day after a horrific stampede on the bridge which killed more than a 1,000 pilgrims.
The stampede occurred after unidentified people in the crowd sparked panic by saying there was a suicide bomber in the crowd.
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