History of Shiite pilgrimage in Baghdad
The ceremony commemorates the death of the seventh Shiite imam, Moussa
al-Kadhim, who died in 799.
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Each year, Shiite worshippers gather at a mosque in the northern Baghdad neighborhood of Kazimiyah that is believed to sit atop his tomb.
Pilgrims walk to the shrine — some flogging themselves with iron chains or slicing their foreheads. The bloody ritual was banned during the rule of Saddam Hussein.
The ceremony is not one of the most important to Shiites, but still draws huge crowds.