Shiite pilgrims converge on Baghdad
Friday, 10 August 2007
BAGHDAD, Aug 9 (AP): Tens of thousands of Shiite pilgrims converged on a golden-domed shrine in northern Baghdad, some beating their heads and chests with their hands and others dancing in a circle to honor an eighth century saint known for his ability to hide his anger.
The procession took place under tight security with guards checking each pilgrim as they reached the green iron gates of the Imam Moussa al-Kadhim mosque and a citywide driving ban in effect until early Saturday to prevent suicide car bombings.
Shiite religious festivals have become easy targets for Sunni insurgents trying to provoke an all-out civil war between Iraq's main Muslim groups. This festival was struck by tragedy two years ago, when an estimated 1,000 pilgrims were killed in a stampede after reports spread that a suicide attacker was among them - the biggest single loss of life since the US-led war began in March 2003.
Still, women shrouded in black abayas and men of all ages walked for hours, some even days, from holy cities south of Baghdad and the volatile Diyala province to the north to reach the mosque with twin golden domes and four minarets that sparkled in the unrelenting summer sun.
"I have come here to get the blessing of the martyr imam and to challenge the terrorism of the Wahhabists," said Hussein Mizaal, a 21-year-old college student from southeastern Baghdad. "We are not afraid of anyone except God. Our faith is getting stronger despite their mean attacks," he said in reference to the austere Wahhabi sect of Sunni Islam practiced in Saudi Arabia.
The ceremony is not one of the most important in the Shiite faith but has gained significance in Iraq because they were banned under Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated regime.
The procession took place under tight security with guards checking each pilgrim as they reached the green iron gates of the Imam Moussa al-Kadhim mosque and a citywide driving ban in effect until early Saturday to prevent suicide car bombings.
Shiite religious festivals have become easy targets for Sunni insurgents trying to provoke an all-out civil war between Iraq's main Muslim groups. This festival was struck by tragedy two years ago, when an estimated 1,000 pilgrims were killed in a stampede after reports spread that a suicide attacker was among them - the biggest single loss of life since the US-led war began in March 2003.
Still, women shrouded in black abayas and men of all ages walked for hours, some even days, from holy cities south of Baghdad and the volatile Diyala province to the north to reach the mosque with twin golden domes and four minarets that sparkled in the unrelenting summer sun.
"I have come here to get the blessing of the martyr imam and to challenge the terrorism of the Wahhabists," said Hussein Mizaal, a 21-year-old college student from southeastern Baghdad. "We are not afraid of anyone except God. Our faith is getting stronger despite their mean attacks," he said in reference to the austere Wahhabi sect of Sunni Islam practiced in Saudi Arabia.
The ceremony is not one of the most important in the Shiite faith but has gained significance in Iraq because they were banned under Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated regime.