Millions march to Iraq's Karabala in annual Arbaeen Shiite pilgrimage

About 2 million Iranians and other Shiites from abroad walked on foot to the Iraqi city of Karbala on October 19 for the Shiite pilgrimage of Arbaeen. The pilgrimage is regarded as the largest annual public gathering in the world which marks the 40th day following the death of a Shiite saint in the 7th century. As the processions have previously been targeted by Sunni militant groups with bloody bombings, militia patrolled the roads and escorted pilgrims from the border to assure security. The ceremony has more threat amid rebellion against the Iraq government’s heavy crackdown on protests that erupted earlier this month against unemployment, corruption and government mismanagement. More than 100 were killed, thousands wounded and a new demonstration is scheduled on October 25.

Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi vowed to “confront with strength and determination all forms of corruption and achieve justice" on the eve of the day.

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About the Ziara pilgrimage

Known as Ziara the pilgrimage mourns the 7th-century death of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Hussein at the hands of the Muslim Umayyad forces in the Battle of Karbala, during the tumultuous first century of Islam’s history. As per religious texts, the saint was considered the heir of the prophet but was killed after refusing allegiance to the Umayyad caliphate. This led to rifts between Sunni and Shiite Islam. Texts also mention Hussein’s half-brother Abbas who was killed.

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Ziara has more pilgrims than Hajj

Though Sunnis are larger in number than Shiites, the pilgrimage draws far more pilgrims than the hajj in Saudi Arabia which is a pilgrimage required once in a lifetime of every Muslim who can afford it and is physically able to make it. It is the common pillar of both Sunni and Shiite. On the other hand, Ziara is voluntary and holds little significance in Sunni tradition. Karbala has had 10-20 million visitors during the event in recent years. Iran’s deputy interior ministry, Hossein Zolfaghari said that more than 3.4 million Iranians traveled to Iraq and 2 million of them have returned.

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(With inputs from Associated Press)

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