Shafaqna English- “Atlas of Shia” is a book written by “Rasul Jafarian” in Persian, published in Tehran in 2008. This work, consisting of 743 pages and 12 chapters, aims to present a geographical and historical picture of Shia school of thought in the history of Islam from its inception to the first decade of the third millennium AD. “Atlas of Shia” has won the Book of the Year Award of the Islamic Republic of Iran and has been translated into Arabic as well. Shafaqna International News Cooperation has translated some sections of this book and provided them in English.
After the end of the Iran–Iraq War in August 1988, the aggressive Ba‘athist regime sought to expand and, on 02 August 1990, Iraq invaded and occupied Kuwait. As a result, Iraq was attacked by American forces and the Sunni Arab states allied with the United States in the region.
With the USA-led assault on Iraqi soil, the collapse of Saddam’s army, and the exposure of the regime’s weakness, the Shi‘a Muslims who had lived for years under Ba‘athist oppression—spontaneously launched an uprising known as the Intifada Sha‘baniyya.
The uprising began just two days after the ceasefire between USA’s forces and the Iraqi army. On 01 March 1991, returning Iraqi soldiers fired a tank shell at Saddam’s mural in Saad Square in Basra. The spark spread quickly, and soon other Shi‘a Muslim cities ignited.
Within a short time, most of the Shi‘a-Muslim majority areas including Basra, Nasiriyah, Amarah, Karbala, and Najaf fell into the hands of the revolutionaries. Simultaneously, the Kurds in the north also expelled Saddam’s forces from Kurdish regions.
The uprising had a largely spontaneous character, with no party or organization providing leadership. Because of USA’s restrictions on Iraqi flights south of the 32nd parallel, Saddam’s forces were initially unable to deploy aircraft or helicopters to suppress the revolt. For this reason, the uprising rapidly spread across the entire country.
The Americans adopted two conflicting positions toward the uprising. At first, they appeared willing to see Saddam fall, and the outbreak of a popular movement seemed like a good opportunity for them. But soon they realized that since the movement was led primarily by the Shi‘a Muslims, its success would likely increase Iranian influence in Iraq. Consequently, the USA quickly abandoned its initial stance and allowed Iraqi helicopters and aircraft to fly, thus exposing Iraqi Shi‘a Muslims to Saddam’s revenge.
What followed was the massacre of the southern Shi‘a Muslims. Iraqi tanks under the command of Hussein Kamel, Saddam’s son-in-law, rolled in carrying banners that read: “No Shi‘a after today.” The campaign of genocide began. According to available sources, between 300,000 and 500,000 people were killed in this tragedy.
A particularly important feature of this uprising was the active role of Grand Ayatollah Abul-Qasim Al-Khoei, who openly supported the revolt. He appointed a nine-member council of prominent Najaf scholars to organize and direct the situation.
The members were: Seyyed Muhammad Ridha Khalkhali, Seyyed Muhyi-ad-Din Gharifi, Seyyed ‘Izz-au-Din Bahr-al-‘Ulum, Seyyed Ja‘far Bahr-al-‘Ulum, Seyyed Muhammad Yasir Abul-‘Ala Al-Sabzwari, Seyyed Salih Khursan, Muhammad Ridha Al-Sa‘idi, Seyyed Muhammad Taqi Khubai, and Seyyed Muhammad Ridha Khursan.
After receiving the green light from the USA, Saddam’s forces launched a massive assault. From 12 March 1991, for three days, the cities of Karbala and Najaf came under heavy artillery fire. On March 20, Iraqi troops stormed Najaf, killing resisters. They arrested Grand Ayatollah Al-Khoei along with several members of his family, including a woman and a child, and transferred them to Baghdad.
With the arrest of Ayatollah Khoei, the large-scale military assaults, and the massacres in the rebellious cities, the Ba‘athists backed by Washington’s tacit approval regained control and crushed the uprising in southern Iraq.
The Intifada Sha‘baniyya remains one of the most tragic events in Shi‘a Islam history, but also a testimony to the vitality of Shi‘a Islam political activism after three decades of oppression, denial of rights, and sectarian persecution. Its main weaknesses were the betrayal by American forces and the lack of organization due to the spontaneous nature of the revolt.