A burqa-clad woman begs at the Blue Mosque believed by some Muslims to be the site of the tomb of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the cousin and son-in-law of Prophet Muhammad, in Mazar-I-Sharif, Afghanistan, Nov. 1, 2012. According to historical documents, Imam Jaffer-I-Sadiq ordered Abu Muslim I Khurasani to bring the sacred coffin from Najaf in Iraq to Mazar-I-Sharif, where it was buried in the seventh century. The sacred coffin was recognized in the twelfth century and Afghan King Sultan Sanjar-I-Salgioqi built a shrine around it. Over time the building was destroyed and hidden for two and a half centuries.
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