Ghazaliya () is a neighborhood in the western outskirts of

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, in the city's Mansour district. To the north of Ghazaliya is the neighborhood of Al-Shu'ala, to the east is Al-Adel, to the south is Al Khadhraa, and to the west is Abu Ghraib. It is a working-class neighborhood of about 100,000 residents. Ghazaliya is situated around six major streets that all end at farms that formerly belonged to Uday Hussein, the son of

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...

Etymology

There are two theories regarding the origin of the name Ghazaliya. The first theory suggest that the district got its name because the area used to be inhabited by gazelles (; or “ghazal”), and thus the place came to be known as “الغزالية”; that is, “Ghazaliya” or “the abode of the gazelles”. The second theory suggests the district is located at an area that used to be partially owned by a woman named غزالة (Ghazala). She and her sister Junyina were the owners of the land that is district Ghazaliya today. Junyina owned the other half of the land, and until the 1990's the name of the district was “Ghazaliya and Junyina”. Eventually the name Ghazaliya came to be used to refer to both lands which comprise the district today.

History

Ghazaliya was built in the Mid-1980s and was home for many military officers during Saddam Hussein's rule. It was a middle to high class area of mainly Sunni Muslims with some Shia,

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

and others. Saddam hid here during the first

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

. That place where Saddam had hidden was turned into the largest mosque in Baghdad which was named Um Al-Maarik mosque. After the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 the Shia named it Um Al-Baneen for about 7 months then the Sunnis took back the control of the mosque and named it جامع أم القرى Umm al-Qura Mosque. . When Sunni–Shia conflict flared in Iraq following the February 2006 al-Askari Mosque bombing in Samarra, Shia militias pushed into Ghazaliya from neighboring Al-Shu'ala. Sunnis turned to

Al-Qaeda in Iraq Al-Qaeda in Iraq (; AQI), was a Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization affiliated with al-Qaeda. It was founded on 17 October 2004, and was led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi until its disbandment on 15 October 2006 after he was killed in a targ ...

and Shia families fled. Ghazaliya's mixed community split into a Sunni southern section and a Shia northern section. The US Army built concrete walls to segregate the two communities and to create a secure perimeter.

References

{{Administrative districts in Baghdad Ghazaliya 1980s establishments in Iraq