A city of west-central Iran south-southwest of Tehran. It has been a Shiite Muslim center since early Islamic times and a pilgrimage site since the 17th century. Population: 959,000.
Dictionary:
Qom (kōm) also Qum
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| Columbia Encyclopedia: Qom |
Shrine town in Iran.
The city of Qom (also Qum), 92 miles (148 km) south of Tehran, is, after Mashhad (the burial place of the eighth Shiʿite imam, Ali Reza), the second most important shrine town in Iran. The sister of Imam Reza, Hazrat-e Fatima, is buried in Qom. The city was a winter capital as well as a royal mausoleum town during medieval times and was strongly patronized when the Shiʿite Safavids came to power during the sixteenth century. In 1920 a religious center of learning (hauzeh-ye ilmiyeh) was established in the city by Shaykh Abd al-Karim Ha'eri Yazdi. Through its madrasas (religious schools) Qom is one of the main centers of Islamic studies in Iran today. With the accession to power of Reza Shah Pahlavi in 1925 and the modernization reforms undertaken, the town soon became the scene of a struggle between the monarchy and the religious establishment. The first major episode of violence that precipitated the Iranian Revolution of 1979 occurred there. When Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned to Iran in 1979 as the leader of the revolution, he established his headquarters in the Madrasa-y Faiziyeh in Qom.
— PARVANEH POURSHARIATI
| Wikipedia: Qom |
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Coordinates: 34°39′N 50°53′E / 34.65°N 50.883°E
| Qom قم |
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| — City — | |||
| Fatima al-Masumeh Shrine in Qom | |||
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| Coordinates: 34°39′N 50°53′E / 34.65°N 50.883°E | |||
| Country | |||
| Province | Qom | ||
| Population (2005) | |||
| - Total | 1,042,309 | ||
| estimate | |||
| Time zone | IRST (UTC+3:30) | ||
Qom (Persian: قم, also known as Q'um or Ghom) is a city in Iran. It lies 156 kilometres (97 mi) by road southwest of Tehran and is the capital of Qom Province. It has an estimated population of 1,042,309 in 2005.[1] It is situated on the banks of the Qom River.
Qom is considered holy by Shi`a Islam, as it is the site of the shrine of Fatema Mæ'sume, sister of Imam `Ali ibn Musa Rida (Persian Imam Reza, 789–816 A.D.). The city is the largest center for Shi'a scholarship in the world, and is a significant destination of pilgrimage.
In September, 2009, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad informed the IAEA of a nuclear enrichment facility still under construction at Qom[2]. Later in the week, at the Pittsburgh G-20 Summit, U.S. President Barack Obama, Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the United Kingdom, and President Nicolas Sarkozy of France made statements regarding the purportedly undisclosed nuclear enrichment facility, drawing parallels with a similar facility at Natanz.[3]
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Qom as an urban settlement existed in the pre-Islamic ages. Architectural discoveries indicate that Qom was a residential area from the 5th millennium BC. Pre-Islamic remaining relics and historical texts point to the fact of Qom being a large regional city. Kum was known to be the name of this ancient city, thus, the incoming 7th century Arabs called it Qom during the conquests of Iran.
During the caliphate of ˤUmar ibn al-Khattāb, the area of Qom fell to the invading Arab armies of Islam. In 645 A.D., Abu Musa Ash'ari also dispatched forces under his command to the area. Conflicts resulted between the incoming Arab army and the residents of the area.
In Seljuki times, the city flourished as well. During the Mongol invasion of Persia the city witnessed widespread destruction, but after the Mongol ruling dynasty, also known as the Ilkhanate, converted to Islam during the reign of Öljeitü (Persian Muhammad Khudabænde), the city received special attention, thus undergoing a revival once more.
In the late 14th century, the city was plundered by Tamerlane and the inhabitants were massacred. But during the periods of rule of the Qara Qoyunlu,[when?] Aq Qoyunlu[when?] and especially during the reign of the Safavids,[when?] Qom gained special attention and gradually developed due to its religious shrine.[citation needed]
By 1503 Qom became one of the important centers of theology in relation to the Shia Islam, and became a significant religious pilgrimage site and pivot.
The city suffered heavy damages again during the Afghan invasions, resulting in consequent severe economic hardships. Qom further sustained damages during the reigns of Nadir Shah and the conflicts between the two households of Zandieh and Qajariyeh in order to gain power over Iran.
Finally in 1793 Qom came under the control of Agha Muhammad Khan Qajar. On being victorious over his enemies, the Qajar Sultan Fæteh Æli Shah was responsible for the repairs done on the sepulchre and Holy Shrine of Hæzræt Mæ'sume, as he had made such a vow.[citation needed]
The city of Qom began another era of prosperity in the Qajar era. After Russian forces entered Karaj in 1915, many of the inhabitants of Tehran moved to Qom due to reasons of proximity, and the transfer of the capital from Tehran to Qom was even discussed. But the British and Russians defeated prospects of the plan by putting Ahmad Shah Qajar under political pressure. Coinciding with this period, a "National Defense Committee" was set up in Tehran, and Qom turned into a political and military apex opposed to the Russian and British colonial powers.
As a center of religious learning Qom fell into decline for about a century from 1820 to 1920, but had a resurgence when Shaykh Abdul Karim Haeri Yazdi accepted an invitation to move from Sultanabad (now called Arak, Iran), where he had been teaching, to Qom.[4]
Many years later, Qom also became the center from which Ayatollah Khomeini based his opposition to the Pahlavi dynasty while in Iran.[citation needed] After the Islamic revolution in 1979, Khomeini moved to Tehran.
Today, Qom is counted as one of the focal centers of the Shi'a both in Iran and around the globe. Its theological center and the Fatima al-Masumeh Shrine are prominent features of the provincial capital of Qom province. Another religious site of pilgrimage is outside the city of Qom and is called Jamkaran.
Qom's proximity to Tehran, Iran's capital, has allowed the clerical establishment easy access to monitor the affairs and decisions of state. Many grand ayatollahs hold offices in both Tehran and Qom; many people simply commute between the two cities as they are only 100 km apart.
South East of Qom is the ancient city of Kashan. Directly south of Qom lie the towns of Delijan, Mahallat, Naraq, Kahak, and Jasb. The surrounding area to the east of Qom is populated by Tafresh, Saveh, and Ashtian.
Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization lists 195 sites of historical and cultural significance in Qom. But the more visited sites of Qom are:
Qom space center is, with the Emamshahr space center, one of the two places where the Iranian Space Agency is launching its suborbital Shahab 3s space rockets.
Qom is currently the largest center for Shi'a scholarship in the world. There are an estimated 50,000 seminarians in the city coming from 70 countries including 6000 from Pakistan. Qom has seminaries for women and some non-Shia students. Most of the seminaries teach their students modern social sciences and Western thought as well as traditional religious studies.[5]
The following is a list of some Grand Ayatollahs and the most senior ranking Ayatollahs in or directly related to Qom.
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| Iranian Revolution (1979) | |
| Hosayn Ali Montazeri | |
| Hosayn Borujerdi |
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