“ Kerbela is a place of pilgrimage of the Shi’ite Moslems, and is only less sacred to them than Meshed ‘Ali and Mecca. Some 200,000 pilgrims from the Shi’ite portions of Islam are said to journey annually to Kerbela, many of them carrying the bones of their relatives to be buried in its sacred soil, or bringing their sick and aged to die there in the odour of sanctity. The mullahs, who fix the burial fees, derive an enormous revenue from the faithful. Formerly Kerbela was a self-governing hierarchy and constituted an inviolable sanctuary for criminals ”

“ The enormous influx of pilgrims naturally creates a brisk trade in Kerbela and the towns along the route from Persia to that place and beyond to Nejef. The population of Kerbela, necessarily fluctuating, is estimated at something over 60,000, of whom the principal part are Shiʽites, chiefly Persians, with a goodly mixture of British Indians. No Jews or Christians are allowed to reside there. ”