Al Hawza or al Hauza was an Arabic language weekly newspaper in Iraq.<ref name=bab>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
History and profileEdit
Al Hawza started publication in 2003<ref name=bab/> after the removal of Saddam Hussein, and American media considered it to be the mouthpiece for Shi'ite cleric Moqtada Sadr.<ref name=nir>Template:Cite news</ref> It was a weekly newspaper published every Thursday.<ref name=nir/><ref name=rawi/> The paper was a religious cultural publication.<ref name=bab/> Its chairman was Abbas Al Rubayi.<ref name=bab/> Hasan Al Zarkani served as the editor.<ref name=bab/> Ali Yasseri was the editor of the paper when it was suspended.<ref name=bbc/>
It was shut down by the 759th Military Police Battalion, under orders of the United States-led administration of Paul Bremer on 28 March 2004, after being accused of encouraging violence against Coalition troops.<ref name=rawi>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The closure of the weekly was protested by hundreds of Iraqis in Baghdad shortly after the ban.<ref name=bbc>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>