The Iran war hangs over a major Shiite pilgrimage

It is one of the largest gatherings of people in the world. More than 20 million Shia Muslim pilgrims gathered in the Iraqi city of Karbala this week for the annual commemoration of the 7th Century killing of a central figure of their faith. Iran is mostly Shia and this year greater numbers of Iranians participated in the pilgrimage, many say because of the killing of their modern-day religious…