AL-DIWANIYAH, Iraq — The ancient city of Nuffar, just south of al-Diwaniyah City near Baghdad, dates back to 2500 B.C. Nuffar (or Nippur) was a holy city to the ancient Iraqis of the Sumerian and Babylonian civilizations.

Yet the city is not holy to Abbas al-Yassiri, 70, who resides in a village in the Afak district near the ancient city. He told Al-Monitor what's left of Nuffar is “mere ruins of a city that was punished by God for the rampant corruption there.”

His opinion is no different from that of some contemporary Muslims and sects such as Tawhid, which reject the glorification of pre-Islamic archaeological sites and civilizations, including the city of Nuffar, because they belong to civilizations that practiced polytheistic religions, such as the Pharaonic civilization in Egypt and the Sumerian and Babylonian civilizations in Iraq.

Yassiri said the site “is a source of black magic and evil." He added, "Interestingly, ancient Iraqis considered Nuffar a blessed piece of land that was dropped from heaven by the Euphrates, which divided the city into two parts.”