KARBALA, Iraq — Dressed in black, 21 million pilgrims from around the world massed in
the
Iraqi city of Karbala on Saturday for the Arbaeen commemoration, against
the backdrop of a political crisis.
اضافة اعلان
Arbaeen marks the end of the 40-day mourning period
for the 7th-century killing of Imam Hussein by the forces of the Caliph Yazid —
a formative event in Shiite Islam.
The annual festival
sees men and women from across Iraq and beyond travel to Karbala, where Imam
Hussein and his brother Abbas are buried, for one of the world’s largest
religious gatherings.
After two years
marked by the COVID-19 pandemic and border restrictions, 21.2 million pilgrims
have flocked to the city in central Iraq this week, said the organization that
manages Abbas’ mausoleum.
Among them are 5
million foreigners, including a record of more than three million from
neighboring Iran, according to authorities in the two countries.
On the esplanade
linking the mausoleums of Hussein and
Abbas, worshippers recited prayers on
Saturday.
Groups of men beat
their chests to the rhythm of religious chants and the din of loudspeakers,
some of them slowly making their way around the two mausoleums.
The pilgrims waved
black flags and banners bearing the image of Imam Hussein.
Since the overthrow
of dictator Saddam Hussein during the US-led invasion in 2003, participation in
Arbaeen has been steadily increasing.
“Arbaeen means
different things to different people,” said Alex Shams, a doctoral student at
the
University of Chicago who specializes in Shiite politics.
“For Iraqi Shiites it’s very much an expression of
their freedom after years of dictatorship and also pride in their Shiite
identity,” he told AFP.
This year the
commemorations are being held against the backdrop of a political crisis in
Iraq.
Squabbling between the two main Shiite factions —
the pro-Iran Coordination Framework and a bloc loyal to mercurial cleric
Moqtada Sadr — has prevented the establishment of a coalition government.
The crisis
escalated into violence in late August, when Sadr supporters clashed with the
army and forces from the Hashed Al-Shaabi, former paramilitaries integrated
into the regular military.
More than 30 Sadr
followers were killed.
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