Al-Rifa'i District
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30°17′54″N 48°16′21″E / 30.29833°N 48.27250°E
al-Rifai district
قضاء الرفاعي | |
|---|---|
  al-Rifai district | |
| Coordinates: 31°43′14″N 46°06′28″E / 31.72056°N 46.10778°E | |
| Country |  Iraq |
| Governorate | Dhi Qar Governorate |
Al-Rifai district (Arabic: قضاء الرفاعي) is an Iraqi district located in the Dhi Qar Governorate, 80 km north of Nasiriyah and 300 km south of Baghdad. Its name is attributed to Sheikh Ahmed al-Rifa'i, founder of the Rifa'i Sufi order. It includes the administrative center of the city of Al-Rifai and the towns Al Nasir, Al Fajir (ناحية الفجر) and Qalat Sukkar. The district has a population of 450,000 people[citation needed], mostly Arabs and Shias who work in agriculture, small business, and government jobs.[1]
Al-Rifai city was built in 1880, during the era of Ottoman Iraq. In the mid 19th century, it attracted merchants from all around Iraq due to the agricultural plenty, especially wheat, barley, dates, and Arabic horses which had been exported to India. At first scattered houses and silos were built on both banks of Al-Gharraf River. The city was upgraded to a district in 1928.
