Az Zubayr

History of Zubayr

Early history

The city was named al-Zubayr because one of the Sahaba (companions) of Muhammad, Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, was buried there.

The city had a large Najdi (now central Saudi Arabia) population who migrated for over four centuries. They built the first neighborhood, Al‑Kut, which still bears that name, establishing Zubair in 1003 AH as a Najdi settlement. The Najdis worked as merchants and the town expanded significantly, becoming larger and more developed than Kuwait.

21st century

By 2008, the city of Zubayr had a population of around 240,000 people and had grown to merge into the Basra metropolitan area with nearly 3 million inhabitants in total. As in Basra, the municipality of Zubayr currently has a Shia majority and is barely distinguishable from Basra itself. But, contrary to Basra, Zubair is still home to a large Sunni minority and they are still living peacefully and in coexistence with the majority Shia Muslim population.