Seven Million Head To Karbala

KARBALA, IRAQ - APRIL 21: Iraqi men beat their chests and heads in a public display of flagellation as crowds of Muslim Shias make a religious pilgrimage by walking to and around the mosques of Imam Abbas and Imam Hussein April 21, 2003 in Karbala, Iraq. In Iraq, Muslims are either Sunnis or Shias. Shias believe that descendants of the Prophet Mohammed should lead the government while Sunnis believe leadership should be selected from the entire community at large. Estimates of the number of Shias vary from 54 percent to 70 percent of the Iraqi population. Iraqi Shi'ite Muslims traveled to the holy city of Karbala to commemorate the 40th day after the death of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, in 680 AD. The ceremony, which may include public voluntary amputations, was banned under ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, a Sunni. (Photo by Oleg Nikishin/Getty Images)