Iraqis who had hoped to make the annual pilgrimage to the Muslim holy city of Mecca this week angrily accused political and religious leaders Tuesday of manipulating the lottery that selected 30,000 people for the trip to Saudi Arabia.
Iraqis carrying scraps of paper scribbled with their lottery numbers crowded mosques in Baghdad. Some beat security guards and fought one another when they didn't see their names on rosters of pilgrims. Entrepreneurs seized on the confusion, illegally selling their spots for up to $200.
Encouraged by the U.S.-led coalition, Iraqi politicians promised this year to ease the former regime's restrictions on the hajj, the journey to Mecca required for able-bodied Muslims at least once in a lifetime. Organizers did away with age, sex and financial barriers, and gave special privileges to relatives of those killed by Saddam Hussein's forces. Iraqis will depart Thursday.
Nice hotels, three meals a day and round-trip travel are subsidized by the interim Iraqi government, with pilgrims paying $600 per person for a trip that typically costs more than $2,000.
Last month, a national lottery, overseen by the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council, was held to choose 30,000 pilgrims from hundreds of thousands of hopefuls. The rosters were released Monday and Tuesday.