Editing Najaf (section)

=== Modern period ===
[[File:Najaf-Iraq 1932.jpg|thumb|[[Masjid al-Imam ‘Ali]] in 1932.|left]]The Ottomans were expelled in an uprising in 1915, following which the city fell under the rule of the [[British Empire]]. The sheikhs of Najaf including Sayyed Mahdi Al-Awadi rebelled in 1918, killing the British governor of the city, and cutting off grain supplies to the [[Anazzah]], a tribe allied with the British. In retaliation the British [[Siege of Najaf (1918)|besieged the city and cut off its water supply]]. The rebellion was put down and the rule of the sheikhs was forcibly ended. A great number of the Shi‘i ‘Ulema’ were expelled into [[Persia]], where they set the foundations for the rise of the city of [[Qom]] as the center of the Shi‘ite learning and authority, in lieu of Najaf. Najaf lost its religious primacy to Qom, and was not to regain it until the 21st century, during the establishment of a [[Shi'a|Shī‘ī]]-majority government in Iraq after 2003.

In the 20th century, much of the Old City was rebuilt in a series of modernization initiatives. Beginning in the 1950s, many historic buildings and monuments, including those adjoining the shrine, were demolished for the construction of Sadeq, Zainulabidin, Rasool and Tousi streets. In 1958, the city wall was torn down and replaced with a [[ring road]]. In the 1980s, the entire area between the shrine and the city's western edge was demolished, and the residents resettled outside the city, in what locals perceived as a government reprisal for the [[1979–1980 Shia uprising in Iraq|Shia uprising]] under the leadership of [[Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr]], who was based in the neighborhood.<ref name="transformation" />

During the [[2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq]], Najaf was a key target of the invading [[United States Armed Forces]]. The city was encircled during heavy fighting on 26 March 2003 and was captured on 3 April 2003 ([[Battle of Najaf (2003)|Battle of Najaf]]). The clerical authorities of the Shī‘ī enclave of [[Sadr City]] in [[Baghdad]], which claimed autonomy in April 2003, after the [[Battle of Baghdad (2003)|fall of Baghdad]], claimed to be taking their orders from senior clerics in Najaf.

On 4 April 2004, the [[Mahdi Army]] attacked the Spanish-Salvadoran-ALARNG base (Camp Golf, later renamed Camp Baker) in An Najaf, part of a coordinated uprising across central and southern Iraq in an apparent attempt to seize control of the country ahead of the 30 June 2004 handover of power to a new Iraqi government. This uprising led to the American troops arriving in the city in the wake of the Spanish withdrawal. In August 2004, heavy fighting broke out again between U.S. forces and Al-Sadr's Mahdi Army.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/aug/07/iraq.michaelhoward|title = US troops kill 300 in Najaf raid|website = [[TheGuardian.com]]|date = 6 August 2004}}</ref> The battle lasted three weeks and ended when senior Iraqi cleric Grand Ayatollah [[Ali al-Sistani]] negotiated an end to the fighting.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0830/p25s01-woiq.html|title = End of the siege: The smoke clears in Najaf|journal = Christian Science Monitor|date = 30 August 2004}}</ref>

In 2012, Najaf was named the Cultural Centre of the Arab World.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.minneapolis.org/about-us/sister-cities/najaf-iraq/|title = Najaf, Iraq}}</ref> On 6 March 2021, [[Pope Francis]] visited the city during his historic [[Pope Francis's visit to Iraq|papal visit to Iraq]] and held an interfaith dialogue with al-Sistani, where he expressed a message of peaceful coexistence between Muslims and Christians in the country.<ref>{{cite news|date=6 March 2021|title=Pope Francis meets Iraq's Shia leader al-Sistani|work=[[Al Jazeera Arabic|Al Jazeera]]|publisher=Al Jazeera Media Network|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/3/6/pope-francis-meets-iraqs-shia-leader-al-sistani|access-date=31 March 2021}}</ref> During the ISIS war, Najaf Shiites launched solidarity initiative with Sunni areas affected by ISIS.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Najaf Shiites launch solidarity initiative with Sunni areas - AL-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012 |url=https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2019/01/iraq-shiite-najaf-sistani-sectarianism.html |access-date=2025-02-21 |website=www.al-monitor.com |language=en}}</ref> Many Iraqis including religious minorities such as Christians from the north, as well as Lebanese Shia have found safe haven in the city.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-01-03 |title=Iraq's holy city of Karbala becomes a haven from sectarian fighting |url=https://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-iraq-karbala-sectarian-20150103-story.html |access-date=2025-02-21 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=https://www.washingtontimes.com |first=The Washington Times |title=HUSAIN: Fleeing Iraqi Christians find safe haven at the Shrine of Imam Ali |url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jul/24/husain-fleeing-iraqi-christians-find-safe-haven-sh/ |access-date=2025-02-21 |website=The Washington Times |language=en-US}}</ref>