Iraqi pilgrims protest corruption during Arbaeen march

Thousands of Iraqis chanted anticorruption slogans during the Arbaeen pilgrimage to the city of Karbala on Saturday, responding to firebrand cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr’s call to keep up anti-government protests. Amid the throngs of black-clad pilgrims mourning the 7th-century death of Imam Hussein, Sadr supporters dressed in white demanded “No, to corruption!” and “Yes, to reform!.”

Waving Iraqi flags, they chanted “Baghdad free, corrupt ones out!” Sadr, whose list emerged as the largest bloc in parliamentary elections last year, helped Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi to form his government. But on Tuesday he called on Twitter for his supporters to march in shrouds.

Iraq — the second-largest OPEC oil producer — is “a rich country where the people are poor,” Khedheir Naim told AFP. The grey-bearded man came from the southern oil city of Basra to join the world’s largest Shiite pilgrimage, which culminated on Saturday. He denounced corrupt leaders, who according to official figures pocketed €410 billion over the past 16 years. “Unfortunately, tyrants and criminals live handsomely at the expense of the people,” Naim said. Denouncing corruption has been a primary theme of the protest movement shaking Iraq, alongside demands for jobs and functional services. In a single week of protests at the start of the month, 110 people were killed and 6,000 injured, according to official figures.

Calls have been made for fresh marches on October 25, to mark the anniversary of the government that is the focus of public anger.

The annual Arbaeen pilgrimage sees millions of worshippers, mostly Iraqis and Iranians, converge by foot on Karbala, 100 km south of Baghdad. Arbaeen marks the end of the 40-day mourning period for the killing of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, by the forces of the Caliph Yazid in 680 AD. Placards with anti-US and antiIsrael messages are often seen in the crowd, though anti-corruption slogans are rare.

Despite warnings from Iranian authorities for pilgrims to delay traveling, 3.5 million people — mostly Iranians — officially entered Iraq by land borders by Friday.