IRAQ: Good luck or bad, Baghdad gets partial eclipse

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The mosque loudspeakers started to call ‘God is great’ just as the sun disappeared behind the moon. The faithful heeded the call for Friday prayers during the partial solar eclipse, and a mild sandstorm blew through Baghdad.

Haidar, a 28-year-old civil servant, worried that it was a bad omen. ‘My wife and I are expecting a baby. I wish this wouldn’t happen right now because it would be a bad omen for the baby,’ he said. ‘I have to pray because the timing of the eclipse is ill-fated. Bad things come with it.... God protect us.’

Others believed the eclipse was a blessing. ‘I feel optimistic and happy when I watch it and believe it is a source for good luck,’ 30-year-old photographer Abed Allah said.

A fortuneteller named Mohanned, who preferred the term spiritual guide, said the event did not auger well for his business. ‘The eclipse spoils everything because my job is connected to the stars. What is happening is that orbits will be changed. I have to calculate everything again, and such things affect my work. I have to wait 10 days or more until I get to the new calculations,’ he said.

— Usama Redha in Baghdad