Going all the way - on the traces of the Kadhimiya pilgrimage

For the past few days, locals and visitors of Baghdad witnessed something strange, at least for everyone uninitiated: around Palestine Street and other places in downtown Baghdad, tents on the sidewalks and loud music playing from bypassing trucks, followed by groups of people wearing all black.

This unusual procession turns out to be one of the major Shia pilgrimages to the shrine of the seventh Twelver Imam, Musa al-Kadhim, located in the neighbourhood al-Kadhimiya, named after said Imam.

As a woman I should wear the typical long black coat and headscarf, so advise me my friends. We´re meeting in a backstreet in the late afternoon and start our walk, which in the end will turn out to take more than five hours.

Looking around, one of the first things you´ll notice is the high presence of police and checkpoints every couple of kilometers. These are the unfortunately necessary measurements the participants and organizers have to take,given attacks and explosions in recent years, claiming the lives of several people, turning them into Shaheed (martyres), whose pictures pave the route to the shrine.

On the other hand, another major aspect of the pilgrimage is the handing out of food to the pilgrims. En masse. For several kilometers, tents and small improvised kitchens stand one next to another, with overly motivated volunteers almost forcing you to eat what they have to offer. From kebab, sweet fried dough, shawarma and pudding to coffee, tea and several types of juices.

Following the procession, my camera was not received very well. Not surprising, but certainly an expression of how delicate religious festivities and locations are, even after the cool-down of interreligious conflicts between Sunni and Shia and a relatively stable peace that has been established since 2020.

Suddenly the procession, for me already three hours in, sees an abrupt change. We find ourselves in a sunnite neighbourhood. The music stops, no more food stalls and the atmosphere is tense. After approximately one and half kilometers we cross the bridge, back into a shiite neighbourhood, marking the final meters to the shrine. Again increased security matters, a hair strand hanging from my hijab is reason enough to reprimand me rigorously.

The mosque itself with its prominent two golden domes and the impressive lighting around is rather hard to find, since the neighbourhood is so densely populated. From now on, it is even harder to move forward, given the amount of people. So close to the shrine, professional cameras are forbidden. Slowly we get pushed forward by the masses. And then he emerges, al-Kadhim´s shrine glowing in the night. Despite the long way, we decide not to enter. We´ve seen enough and want the believers to have their moment of worship. Leaving the area around the shrine will take us more than an hour. In one of the side streets we sit down and smoke, hoping the saint will forgive us for this faux pas…