Karbala: Millions of Shiite Muslims gathered in the Iraqi holy city of Karbala for the annual Arbaeen pilgrimage, one of the world’s largest religious gatherings, even as regional tensions and difficult economic conditions shaped the mood around the occasion.
Arbaeen is observed 40 days after Ashoura, which commemorates the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, and members of his family at the Battle of Karbala in 680 A.D.
The operations command overseeing the pilgrimage reported that more than 4.88 million pilgrims had entered Iraq since the first day of the Islamic month of Muharram, with arrivals continuing from various countries. Millions more came from different regions within Iraq itself.
Among the prominent foreign visitors was Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who arrived in Najaf before proceeding to Karbala to take part in the pilgrimage.
Observers on the ground noted a visible shift in the composition of the crowd this year. Aqeel al-Rubaie, 45, a pilgrim from Baghdad, said Iranian flags were particularly prominent along the Najaf-Karbala road, while flags from European, Arab and other Muslim countries were fewer than in previous years. He attributed this to regional events that had affected the number of foreign pilgrims.
Another pilgrim from Baghdad, Hassan al-Sarai, 35, echoed this observation. He said he saw almost no flags other than Iranian ones along the road and inside Karbala itself.
Volunteer processions providing food, water, medical care and other services lined the roads leading to Karbala from across Iraq, a longstanding tradition of communal service tied to the pilgrimage.
The gathering took place against a backdrop of economic strain. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted Iraqi oil exports, and oil revenues account for more than 90 percent of Iraqi state income, making the economy highly sensitive to any disruption in crude shipments.
Baghdad also faces the task of disarming the country’s network of militias. Kataib Hezbollah, one of the most powerful Iran-backed militias, issued a statement during Arbaeen rejecting calls to disarm and declaring its commitment to retaining what it called the weapons of the resistance.
In Iran, Shiites unable to travel to Karbala held their own observances. In Tehran, black-clad mourners marched along a nearly 20-kilometre route to a Shiite holy shrine, with similar gatherings reported in other Iranian cities and towns.
