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Babil’s Jewish shrine, mosque share space

The tomb of the Prophet Ezekiel, located next to a mosque in Kifl, Babil, is a site of both controversy and religious coexistence.
A man walks inside the shrine containing the tomb of Jewish prophet Ezekiel in the Iraqi town of Kifl, south of Baghdad, March 25, 2015. Picture taken March 25, 2015.  REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani - RTR4UYHY
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There is a spot in the city of Babil that highlights the simultaneous overlap and struggle of religions. The Kifl area includes the tomb of the Prophet Ezekiel (Zul-Kifl), one of the prophets of Israel, as well as al-Nukhailah mosque, visited by Muslims. It is also the place where the fourth successor of the Rashidi Islamic era, Ali ibn Abi Talib (599-661), settled for a period.

Today, the Islamic Shiite Waqf is the official body overseeing both the Jewish shrine and the mosque. Israel Today reported in December that the tomb of the Prophet Ezekiel had been converted into a mosque.

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