BAGHDAD — For the first time since bombs ripped apart the sacred golden dome of the ancient mosque in Samarra, Iraq, in 2006, millions of Shiite Muslim pilgrims returned to worship Friday.
They were commemorating the death 1,100 years ago of Imam Hassan al-Askari, who is buried in the shrine. Askari was a direct descendent of the Prophet Muhammad.
The pilgrimage, which took place without bomb or gun attacks, was another sign that the sectarian hatred that the dome bombing spurred has calmed. The golden dome is a holy site, primarily to Shiites, in a predominantly Sunni Muslim city.
Many among the estimated 2 million to 3 million pilgrims who streamed to the ruins of the shrine praised their Sunni hosts. They said tribal leaders in the area had put up tents filled with free food, drink and medical care along the roads leading to the holy site.
Most pilgrims made the trip in packed buses, some traveling 14 hours. Hassan Jawad, however, who is 40 and blind, walked 75 miles from Baghdad.
“This pilgrimage is part of our national reunification,” he said. “How beautiful for all Iraqis — Shiite and Sunni — to share a common prayer.”
Also Friday, Iraq’s prime minister called on Iraqis to reconcile with former supporters of Saddam Hussein’s Sunni-dominated regime who have been shunned by the Shiite government that rose to power after the U.S. invasion.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
