Sami al-Askari

Sami al-Askari (Arabic: سامي العسكري‎) is an Iraqi politician and member of the Iraqi National Assembly, elected from the State of Law political coalition During the regime of Saddam Hussein he was active in exile opposition politics, joining the 1992 Executive Council of the Iraqi National Congress as a representative of the Islamic Dawa Party. In 2003, al-Askari joined the Iraqi Reconstruction and Development Council (IRDC) led by Emad Dhia and worked for Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) Central Baghdad office as Media Spokesman. He was a member of the committee that drafted the Constitution of Iraq. In 2009, al-Askari was involved in the handover of British hostage Peter Moore to the Iraqi government authorities. Moore was later returned to the UK.

In December 2013, al-Askari announced he was splitting from the State of Law and forming his own coalition that "to reach out to disaffected voters whom [Prime Minister Nouri al-] Maliki, with his roots in Shiite religious politics could not, such as the secular, women and the young."

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Al-Askari Shrine

Al ‘Askarī Shrine or the ‘Askariyya Shrine (Arabic: مرقد الامامين علي الهادي والحسن العسكري‎ Marqad al-Imāmayn ‘Alī l-Hādī wa l-Ħassan al-‘Askarī) is a Shī‘ah Muslim holy site in the Iraqi city of Sāmarrā 125 km (78 mi) from Baghdad. It is one of the most important Shī‘ah Shrines in the world, built in 944. Adjacent to the shrine is a mosque, which is called Al-Askari Mosque. The dome of the Shrine was destroyed in a bombing by extremists in February 2006 and its two remaining minarets were destroyed in another bombing in June 2007, causing widespread anger amongst Shī‘ah Muslims. The remaining clock tower was also destroyed in July 2007. The dome and minarets were repaired and the mosque reopened in April 2009.

The remains of the 10th and 11th Shī‘ah Imāms, ‘Alī al-Hādī ("an-Naqī") and his son Hasan al-‘Askarī, known as: al-‘Askariyyain ("the two ‘Askarīs"), rest at the shrine. Also buried within the Mosque are: Hakimah Khātūn, sister of ‘Alī al-Hādī; and Narjis Khātūn, the mother of Muħammad al-Mahdī. Adjacent to this shrine is another mosque, built over the location where the Twelfth or "Hidden" Imām, Muħammad al-Mahdī first entered the Minor Occultation.