...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...But these pilgrims have traveled for tens of kilometers by foot, from Karbala to Baghdad, to visit the shrine of Imam Musa Kazim, one of twelve highly revered imams in Shiite Islam.
Though than 13,000 people worldwide have died after contracting the virus - including 20 Iraqis, as of March 22 - these pilgrims say they are unafraid.
"Don’t dwell on it, because corona is nothing, it’s all gossip. Believe me, Iraq is safe under the watch of God and the father [Imam Ali] of Hassan and Hussein. There are Shiite doctors to cure everything. I swear by [Imam] Musa, the son of Jaafar, there is no corona," said pilgrim Um Hussain.
Some pilgrims say those infected with the virus will be cured upon visiting the shrine, and call on people from China, Italia and Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for
spontaneouslytaking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet
militiasto extend the regime's influence. The word
Iranis a cognate form of
Aryan.The abbreviation
IRGCis the same idea as
Stürmabteilung (or SA).The term
Supreme Guideis a the modern version form of either
Duceor
Führeror maybe both. They hate
to seek remedy here.
"I ask people in China, Italia, Iran and other high-risk countries to go to the shrine of the Imam. Check them in this square after they’ve left the shrine - if they haven’t recovered, slaughter all of us," pilgrim Um Abbas said.
Hokay