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Iraqi pilgrims make a perilous journey to pray for peace

Divided in their troubled homeland, Iraqi pilgrims who made the journey to Makkah for Haj this week are united in their prayers for peace, stability and the loved ones they have lost.

  • Reuters
  • Published: 00:00 December 27, 2006
  • Gulf News

Makkah: Divided in their troubled homeland, Iraqi pilgrims who made the journey to Makkah for Haj this week are united in their prayers for peace, stability and the loved ones they have lost.

"What other motivation would I have than to pray for the unity of our country. Only unity can bring back security and safety," said Zohra Um Mohammad.

"We pray for the Americans to leave. They are the ones who have torn us apart," added the 54-year old accountant, who braved dangerous roads on a five-day journey from Iraq's ancient city of Babel to Makkah.

At least 2 million Muslims, from dozens of sects and around 160 countries, begin on Friday an exhausting five-day ritual that all able-bodied Muslims are required to make at least once in a lifetime.

But this Haj takes place amid escalating violence between Sunnis and Shiites that has taken Iraq to the brink of civil war.

Violence is at an all-time high in Iraq. Sunni-Shiite tension is also high in Lebanon and fears that sectarian splits will spill over at the Haj have added to existing worries of Al Qaida-linked militant violence.

Asked if he was worried about meeting fellow Iraqis of other sects, Kadhim Manwar Al Adhari, a 52-year old public servant said: "I'm from Amara, where both Shiites and Sunnis live. Sunnis are married to Shiites and vice versa".

Time to reflect

For many Iraqi pilgrims, Haj was a time to reflect and to pray for their country.

"What a pity. We need to pray for Iraq, you must pray with us for our homeland," said 45-year-old Ruqaya, her eyes welling with tears as she recalled the state in which she had left Baghdad for the pilgrimage. On their way to the Grand Mosque in Makkah, Ruqaya and her husband Jabbar Abu Tariq said they would be praying for dozens of relatives, neighbours and friends killed in violence that has torn the Iraqi capital apart since the invasion in 2003.

"We have suffered so much grief that Satan plays with the minds of some of us and gets them to start questioning the most important thing in life, faith in Allah," Abu Tariq said.

Asked if he was a Shiite or a Sunni, Abu Tariq said: "We are Muslims".

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