Shiite pilgrims in holy Iraq city for annual ritual

The streets of Karbala overflowed with hundreds of thousands of Shiites on
Tuesday as the annual Ashura ceremonies commemorating the killing of the
prophet’s grandson got underway.

The shrine city, holy to Shiites, south of Baghdad was heavily guarded as
devotees from across the Muslim world flooded through a long series of
security checkpoints to reach the main focus of their pilgrimage -- two
imposing shrines, one to Imam Hussein and the other to his half-brother
Imam Abbas.

The rituals commemorating the killing of Imam Hussein – a grandson of
Prophet Muhammad – by armies of the caliph Yazid in 680 will reach their
climax in Karbala on Wednesday, but processions marking Shiite Islam's
holiest days have been held across the country for the past week.

Around two million people are expected to be in Karbala, 110 kilometers
(70 miles) south of Baghdad, by Tuesday, guarded by a heavy security
force deployment of 28,000.

Akil al-Khazali, governor of Karbala province, said more than 55,000
foreigners had already arrived from countries including Iran, Bahrain, Saudi
Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan and Tanzania.

Raucous crowds joined somber processions in which men and even some
boys, accompanied by drummers, beat their chests and engaged in the
devotional self-flagellation that characterizes the Ashura rituals.

Remembering Hussein

Tradition holds that Hussein was decapitated and his body mutilated by
Yazid's armies.

To express remorse and guilt for not saving Hussein, Shiite volunteers flay
themselves with chains or slice their scalps during processions to the two
shrines.

Tents and small wooden rooms covered in black fabric and adorned with
lights and pictures of Shiite imams have sprung up across the city for
pilgrims in need of food or seeking a rest from the intense bustle of the
streets.

The pilgrims ritually drink a goblet of fresh water to remember the burning
thirst that 71 family members of Imam Hussein endured as they were led
through the desert to captivity in Syria.

I dreamed since my childhood of seeing Karbala, and now my childhood dream has come true

Kossid Akhour, pilgrim from Pakistan

Holy ritual

For Shiite Muslims, participating in the Ashura commemorations in Karbala is
second only to the hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

"I dreamed since my childhood of seeing Karbala, and now my childhood
dream has come true," said Kossid Akhour, 50, a pilgrim from Pakistan
dressed in black robes, the color of mourning.

His friend Assim Abbas, 25, described his visit to Karbala as arriving in
the "paradise" he had always dreamed of.

Many pilgrims crossed the border from Iran, which has the largest
concentration of Shiite Muslims in the world.

"Being near the Imam Hussein shrine on Ashura is the most important thing
in my life," said Iranian Sadiq Hussein, 40, sporting a green bandana that
represents the colors of the Prophet Mohammed.

Pilgrims shrugged off security fears, which have been heightened by
attacks in recent days by Sunni insurgents against devotees participating in
Ashura rituals despite such-improved security across the country.

Women banned from Kadhimiya

On Sunday, a female suicide bomber blew herself up in the middle of
pilgrims queuing at security gates leading to the Imam Musa Qassam shrine in Baghdad, killing at least 35 people and wounding dozens.

Iraqi police and security forces banned women Tuesday from entering the in the Shiite district of Kadhimiya, where the shrine is located.

Dozens of women stood near the entrance in a bid to participate in a commemoration of Ashura but were unable to go through heavily wired checkpoints leading to the Shiite neighborhood.

Kolam Abbas, a tour guide from Madagascar who was on his fourth visit to
Karbala, said that he was willing to take the risk.

"The circumstances in the city have changed, I feel more secure today," he
said.