Nadjaf Al Ashraf
village in Kolda, Senegal
Nadjaf Al Ashraf (also spelled Nadjaf Al Achraf or Najaf Al Ashraf) is a village in Sinthiang Koundara commune, Bonconto Arrondissement, Vélingara Department, Senegal. It is located on the banks of the Koulountou River, a tributary of the Gambia River.
The village was named after the holy Shi'a city of Najaf (full name: Al-Najaf al-Ashraf; Arabic: ٱلنَّجَف ٱلْأَشْرَف) in southern Iraq. It was founded by local Shi'i religious leader Cherif Mohamed Aly Aidara.
History
Cherif Mohamed Aly Aidara, founder of the NGO Mozdahir International Institute, founded the village as a social development project for poverty alleviation and sustainable development. 400 impoverished families were moved to the area to help curb the flow of domestic migration to cities as well as international migration, and a banana plantation was opened there.
Today, there are hundreds of hectares of banana plantations in Nadjaf Al Ashraf. Mozdahir manages the plantations and ensures that the farmers can earn living wages.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Nadjaf Al Ashraf” as village in Kolda, Senegal. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as village in Kolda, Senegal. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 21, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q87066450.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Nadjaf Al Ashraf”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Nadjaf Al Ashraf primary sources, Nadjaf Al Ashraf archive and Nadjaf research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Nadjaf Al Ashraf”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Nadjaf Al Ashraf” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.