UNESCO Organizes Najaf Day in Paris

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - In order to celebrate the selection of Najaf as the Cultural Capital of the Islamic World in 2012, a ceremony called “Najaf Day” was held in UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris.The event sought to expound on the world status of the city of Najaf and its geopolitical dimension, Al-Alam news network reported.Speakers at the ceremony referred to the sanctity of the holy city because of the mausoleum of Imam Ali (AS) and stressed that attention should be paid to the scientific movement heralded by Najaf’s ceremony.Ali Rastbin, head of the Geopolitics Academy in Paris, said Najaf has a unique status and its world status should be compared to that of cities like Vatican, Athens, Cairo and Beirut.Hissan Issa Abbassi, secretary general of the department of Najaf’s Cultural Heritage referred to the great heritage of the city and said if one considers the works of the city’s Faqihs (jurisprudents), literary figures and poets, even excluding manuscripts, the number of works will be hundreds of thousands.The plan to celebrate Najaf as the cultural capital of the Islamic world in 2012 is to be inaugurated on March 16 with the participation of representatives from some 100 Arab and Islamic countries. /129