Fewer Iranian Religious Tourists Are Visiting Iraq's Holy Places
Economic and security concerns have led to a marked decrease in the number of Iranians visiting Iraq as religious tourists.
The current religious tourism season in the Shiite-dominated Iraqi city of Najaf is said to be the worst in years, given the low number of Iranians visiting this city since the beginning of the year. This decline is due to a decrease in the purchasing power of visitors, following the decline in the value of the Iranian Toman against the US dollar, which resulted from international sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic over its nuclear program.
Najaf, a holy city for Shiites from Iraq and around the world, includes a number of religious shrines. Chief among these is the shrine of Imam Ali bin Abi Talib. Other Iraqi cities are also home to holy Shiite shrines of imams and clerics; Karbala is home to the shrines of Hussein and his brother Abbas, the two sons of Imam Ali. Samarra, in turn, includes the shrine of the two Imams Ali al-Hadi and Hassan al-Askari. The capital, Baghdad, includes the shrine of the two Imams Musa al-Kadhim and Muhammad Jawad.
Millions of Shiites from inside and outside Iraq — especially from Iran, Bahrain and Pakistan — flock to these shrines several times a year to celebrate religious rituals.
Kamal al-Fadhli, director of the Shiite Waqf in Najaf, told Al-Monitor, “The number of Iranian visitors to the city has dropped by 50% since the beginning of the year, while their purchasing power dropped by about a third, due to the low value of the Iranian toman against the US dollar.”
