A massive pilgrimage to this Shiite Muslim holy city this week ended unexpectedly in peace and with signs of moderation toward US forces they credited for ousting Saddam Hussein, who had severely restricted the ritual in past years.

Despite repeated calls from religious leaders to show hostility to occupation forces, anti-US demonstrations staged Tuesday and Wednesday drew only a few thousand, a tiny fraction of the pilgrims.

Hundreds of thousands joined the ceremony of mourning imam Hussein, the Shiites' top martyr, in and around his mausoleum in Karbala, 80 kilometres (50 miles) southwest of Baghdad, paying little or no attention to politics.

"The Shiites are simply too happy to be here, to mourn in total freedom imam Hussein, they avoided everything that could spoil the day," said Karbala lawyer Mohsen Abdul-Ali al-Zubeidi.

There was an outburst of devotion and grief for Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, whose persecution by Omeyyad caliph Yazeed was compared by the crowd to their own persecution under Saddam's 24-year rule.

The pilgrimage marked the 40th day after the decapitation of imam Hussein more than 1,300 years ago in Karbala, home of his blue-tinged earthenware mausoleum topped by a golden dome and two golden minarets.

The worshippers beat their chests and flogged their backs with chains as they moved in and around the mausoleum, expressing sadness and guilt because Muslims abandoned Hussein to the swords of the Omeyyad army.

Some were soaked in blood, after cutting their heads with swords, and hit the fresh wounds with their hands, symbolising the sacrifice of Hussein who considered Yazeed's rule anti-Islamic and rose up against him.

"By God, we shall never forget you (Imam) Hussein," shouted the crowd, a large segment of whom had marched to Karbala by foot, some trekking hundreds of kilometres (miles).

Under Saddam's secular, Sunni Muslim-dominated Baath Party regime, Shiites were banned from publicly expressing those feelings, and especially any political sentiment.

The crowds rejoiced that he is no longer in charge. "O (imam) Hussein, Saddam is gone," was one of the most chanted slogans.

Many expressed thanks to the coalition for removing Saddam but hope that the coalition will keep its promise to leave Iraq and not exploit its huge oil wealth, much needed for reconstruction.

"To have the Americans is by far better than Saddam," said Souriya Souali, a young hotel maid.

Some were angry at Arab regimes that opposed the US-led invasion. "The Arabs are just like him," said 30-year-old Radiya Allawi, a mother of five.

Fears of violence instigated by the leadership of the Shiite community that makes up a majority in Iraq also seemed to have abated.

All three main Shiite religious currents oppose US occupation and the civil administration led by retired army general Jay Garner, but agree at the same time that resistance should be peaceful, at least in the beginning.

"They know perfectly well that if the US army withdraws now, it will be chaos," said Zubeidi.

The three currents are led by Sayyed Ali Sistani, Sayyed Muqtada al-Sadr and the Iran-based Supreme Assembly of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SAIRI) led by Ayatollah Muhammad Baqer al-Hakim.

They also agreed not to call for an Iranian-styled Islamic republic, and go instead for a "democratic government elected by the Iraqis."

Although their call for demonstrations against US occupation went largely unheeded, they were satisfied with the pilgrimage as they said it demonstrated their ability to fill the vacuum left by Saddam's removal from power.

Sheikh Raed Haidari, a member of the committee that supervised the pilgrimage, said the clergy would not claim power as in neighbouring Iran, but was clear that it would nevertheless play a major political role in a future Iraqi government.

"We have competent candidates – engineers, doctors – who have a clean history for all positions" in a future administration, he said.AFP