Invitation to the whole world (2024) i

بازدید: 6232 انتشار: 1403/05/12 کد مطلب: 24438 دسته بندی: لیست مطالب

in the name of God the merciful

Invitation to the whole world (2024)

Great march

Arba'een Pilgrimage

Hello to all the curious of the world, No matter where in the world you are

Imam Hussein, peace be upon him, invites you to the greatest walk of the world

There will be a lot of wonders in this massive march

؟ Are you ready for it

؟ Do you like to discover the truth yourself

The great truth that is hidden, of course, the pirates have kept it hidden

The Arba'een Pilgrimage is the world's largest public gathering that is held every year in Karbala, Iraq. This Ziyarah (pilgrimage) is held at the end of the 40-day mourning period following Ashura, the religious ritual for the commemoration of the Prophet Mohammad's grandson Husayn ibn Ali's martyrdom in 680

Arba'een marks a "pivotal event in history" in which the pilgrims make their journey to Karbala on foot,where Husayn ibn Ali, the third Imam of Shia, and his companions were killed and beheaded by the army of Yazid I. Some of the pilgrims make their journey from cities as far as Basra, about 500 kilometres (310 mi) away by road

The ritual has been described as "an overwhelmingly powerful display of Shia belief and solidarity." Iran and Shias however have criticized mainstream media for ignoring the event

Jabir ibn Abd Allah was the first pilgrim of Husayn ibn Ali in the Arba'een of 61 AH. According to narrations, the custom of performing the pilgrimage on foot was forgotten during a time period after Morteza Ansari and it was revived by Mirza Husain Noori Tabarsi in an Eid al-Adha who repeated this action every year performing the last one by 1319 AH

Some other scholars and Marja's kept on the same manner in Arba'een up to the Saddam's time during which the pilgrimage was banned decoding="async" although some people used to perform it secretly. It was revived just after Saddam's overthrow in 2003

During Saddam era the pilgrimage was officially banned and was hence carried out secretly and the number of participants was very low. After the fall of Saddam in 2003, the numbers grew year after year reaching 20 million pilgrims by 2016

"Shia cities, towns and villages all over Iraq empty out" during the 20-day period of the pilgrimage "as their people take to the roads in an elaborately organised and well protected mass movement not seen anywhere else in the world." By 2014, over 19 million people from 40 countries of the world participated in this occasion, making it the second largest gathering in the world

The figure reached 22 million pilgrims by 2015, according to Iraqi state-run media.By 2016, according to al-Khoei Foundation, almost 22 million pilgrims gathered in Iraq, 10 percents more than 2014

Even though the Hindu Kumbh Mela is larger in population, it is only held every twelve years, and hence the Arbaeen pilgrimage is the largest gathering held annually. Some Sunnis, Christians, Yazidis and people of other faiths also participate the occasion

The pilgrimage is marked by long walks from Najaf or Basra to Karbala. People from different walks of life, ethnicity and sect participate in the march. Husayn ibn Ali the Muslim saint for whom the pilgrimage is made is believed to transcend all cultural boundaries and be a symbol of universal freedom and compassion. The mood of the pilgrimage has also been described as "one of intense piety and communal solidarity"

Free services

During the pilgrimage "copious supplies of food, small clinics and even dentists are available for pilgrims and they all work for free. "The care of pilgrims is regarded as a religious duty." The pilgrims carry flags of different color but the black flag of mourning for Imam Hussein is by far the most common. They also decorate "permanent brick buildings and temporary tents which are used for praying, eating and sleeping along the three main routes leading to Kerbala"

Along the roads to Karbala, many Mawakibs are devised with the aim of providing "accommodation, food and beverage and medical services", and practically anything else the pilgrims need for free. Seven thousand of such mawakeb were set up in city of Karbala in 2014. Besides Iraqi Mawakibs, which are unofficially organized, there are some Iranian ones which are less "specifically targeted" but pilgrims are from various regions

Ali Moamen, Academic and former director of Al Najaf Satellite TV Channel, said:

What is interesting about this human crowd is that all society segments take part in it. Despite its religious character, nonreligious people also participate in it, in addition to illiterates and holders of high academic degrees, and ordinary people and leaders of the country.

According to Sayed Mahdi al-Modarresi, writing for The Huffington Post

Arbaeen should be listed in the Guinness Book of World Records in several categories. The biggest annual gathering, longest continuous dining table, largest number of people fed for free, largest group of volunteers serving a single event, all under the imminent threat of suicide bombings.

Security arrangements

The pilgrims face dangers such as "attacks that have been blamed on Sunni extremists, who have routinely targeted the pilgrims" using car bombs or rockets. The pilgrimage is performed under "tightened security" guarded by tens of thousands of Iraqi police and soldiers backed by armored vehicles and military helicopters to protect the pilgrims

Iranian advisers also help protect the visitors through a joint operation room. On 20 November 2015, a major bombing plot in Hussainiya in Iraq, Baghdad was foiled by the Iraqi police, where 18 booby-trapped dolls were seized by the security forces. Stuffed with bombs, were meant to be scattered on the roads leading to Karbala during Arbaeen

Political dimensions

The ritual is no longer considered a purely cultural ceremony while ISIL, the group who regards Shia as apostate, had launched a wide offensive in Iraq, and hence the presence of such a large population of Shia is of a political importance. According to Ali Mamouri writing in Al-Monitor, the pilgrimage became "a show of force against those hostile to the rise of the Shia in the region"

After the fall of Mosul to the ISIL "and the subsequent massacres of Shia soldiers and civilians", the gathering took a political form for the first time for the Shia, who use the mourning rituals as a way to condemn injustice and express their social power

"The second sign of Arbaeen's political shift was the regional message conveyed by Shia to their opponents: The Shia Crescent," Mamouri added. As the third sign he pointed to "a message exchanged between regional forces" and "unprecedented Iranian presence" which has led to "a feeling of solidarity between Arab and non-Arab Shia"

Surveys are done to study Shi'a Muslims via both "traditional survey instruments and experimental methods". The survey included topics such as "religion and politics, democracy, women's rights, regional conflict and Iran's nuclear agreement". Experimental methods were employed to investigate the "latent perspectives" of pilgrims towards "sensitive topics", including "Iran's nuclear program, and attitudes toward the West, China and Russia"

In the media

Criticism of media blackout

Iranian media, officials, religious figures and citizens have criticized Western media for ignoring the pilgrimage despite its large scale and its geopolitical and cultural significance. Despite being even larger than Hajj, the most important Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, Arbaeen pilgrimage remains largely unknown to the world

Asharq al-Awsat false report

In 2016, Asharq al-Awsat, a London-based daily paper, issued a report regarding Arba'een pilgrimage which was proven to be false, according to Agence France-Presse

The "Saudi-owned" paper said that according to World Hedecoding="async" alth Organization report "unplanned pregnancies and... disease" were seen "following the arrival of scores of unregulated Iranians to take part in the annual Shia pilgrimage to Karbala". According to the article, 169 unmarried women had become pregnant from the Iranian pilgrims

UN's hedecoding="async" alth agency rejected the claim of issuance of such a report by WHO. WHO "slammed" the allegations of Asharq al-Awsat and condemned mentioning its name in what it called an "unfounded" news

According to Rana Sidani, spokeswoman for the WHO, the organization was "shocked" by Asharq al-Awsat's report. In a TV interview, she said that they were "consulting with the Iraqi ministry of hedecoding="async" alth" on possible legal action against the paper." Haider al-Abadi, Iraqi Prime Minister, and "several other leading Shiite figures" condemned the Asharq al-Awsat's report and demanded an "apology"

Tomb of Abolfazl

Around the world

Besides Iraq, the pilgrimage is performed annually around the word in countries such as UK, US and Nigeria

Mr Waqar Haider, the organizer, said that the procession failed to gain coverage by the mainstream media because of the "stereotyping". "I think it's because of stereotyping. People see the entire Muslim community as one community," he said

Tomb of Imam Hossein

Nigeria

Shia Muslims in west of Africa can't take themselves to Karbala because it is very far for them. So, the Pilgrims from Nigeria, Ghana, Chad, Cameroon, Benin and Togo head toward Zaria in Kaduna State, northern Nigeria to be addressed by the Shia cleric Ibrahim Zakzaky

Police crackdown

On 5 October 2017, the annual Arbaeen trek held by Islamic Movement of Nigeria, was attacked by the Kano police resulting in death of a religious leader and injury of dozens of participants. The Nigerian police had also brutally attacked and murdered hundreds of the members of the community in 2015 in the Zaria massacre

Scholars' observations

In reference to 2017 Arabeen pilgrimage, head of Iran's Islamic seminaries Ayatollah Alireza Arafi said "Arbaeen pilgrimage has truly become a manifestation of unity and brotherhood within Muslim community so much that even followers of other religions have been drawn to it and attend the ceremony alongside Shia Muslims