Holy money

Every year millions of Shia pilgrims from Iraq and across the world flock to the holy city of Karbala to visit religious tombs including that of Hussein ibn ‘Ali, grandson of the prophet Muhammad, bringing with them millions of dollars worth of donations.

As an expression of loyalty to the Islamic figures buried in Karbala’s shrines, visitors leave cash and in-kind contributions to the religious authorities, dropping money into what is known as the ‘shibak’, a silver made box that looks like a net surrounding the tombs. Money from the shibak is gathered up by the shrine authorities twice a month.