From Karbala to the Islamic State
About the largest pilgrimage in the world, taking place now, and why you’ve never heard of
Original article: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/sayed-mahdi-almodarresi/arbaeen-pilgrimage_b_6203756.html (24 November 2014)
Translation: http://www.sayed7asan.blogspot.fr
This is not the Muslim Hajj, or Kumbh Mela Hindu. Referred to as the “Arbaeen” [the fortieth day] is the largest gathering in the world and you have probably never heard of it! Not only this congregation exceeds the number of visitors to Mecca (by a factor of five, actually), but it is even more important than the Kumbh Mela, since the latter is commemorated every three years. In short, Arbaeen eclipse all other rallies in the world, reaching twenty million participants last year . This represents an impressive proportion of 60% of the entire population of Iraq, and their number is increasing year after year.
Above all, Arbaeen is unique because it takes place against a background of chaotic and dangerous geopolitical scenes Daech. – Aka “Islamic State” – considers Shiites as mortal enemies , so that nothing exasperates the terrorist group that the sight of Shiite pilgrims gathered for their biggest demonstration of faith.
There is another feature of Arbaeen. Although this is a typical spiritual exercise Shiite , Sunni, and even Christians , Yazidis, Sabeans and Zoroastrians participate in both the pilgrimage and the service of the devotees. This is remarkable given the exclusive nature of religious rituals, and this can only mean one thing: the people, regardless of color or creed, see Hussein as a universal symbol of freedom and compassion without borders and meta-religious.
The reason you will have never heard is probably related to the fact that the press is more interested in negative tabloid, sensationalist and bloody as positive stories and inspiring , especially when it comes to Islam. If a few hundred demonstrators opposed to immigration through the streets of London, they will make the headlines. The same level of airtime is given to a march for democracy in Hong Kong or an anti-Putin rally in Russia. But a gathering of twenty million people, amounting in clear defiance against terror and injustice, can not even appear on the ticker at the bottom of the TV news channels! An unofficial media blackout imposed on this gigantic event, although this story has all the critical elements of a successful story: the staggering numbers, the political significance, the revolutionary message, the tense situation and originality. But when such a story manages to cross the editorial of the mainstream media, it creates a shock wave and affects all populations-categories.
Among the many people inspired by this event, there was a young Australian man I met there several years ago and who had converted to Islam. Obviously, no one takes lightly such a decision that changes our lives, and in response to my request, he informed me that it all began in 2003. One evening, while watching the information, his attention was attracted by the scenes of millions of people flocking to a holy city called Karbala and intoning the name of a man he had never heard of “Hussein”. For the first time in decades, in a televised event in the world, the world got a glimpse of religious fervor previously banned in Iraq.
Once the regime Baath ousted Sunni, Western viewers were eager to see how the Iraqis would respond to a new era of dictatorial released persecution. The “Republic of Fear” had collapsed and genie had escaped from the bottle irreversibly. This young man recalls being asked: “Where is Karbala, and why everyone is going in that direction? Who is this Hussein and causes people to defy all odds and probabilities [bombing] and come out to mourn his death fourteen centuries after it occurred?
What he saw in this story 60 seconds seemed especially poignant because the pictures were such that he had never seen. A fervent sense of community transformed human pilgrims like iron filings, are swarming into a mass of more compact as they approached what could be described as the irresistible magnetic field Hussein. “If you want to see a living religion, breathing, full of fervor and vitality, come to Karbala,” he concluded.
How could a man who was killed there in 1334 years be so alive and have a presence so palpable today, to the point of pushing millions of people to support his cause, and consider his fate as their own? People are unlikely to become embroiled in a dispute (especially if it occurred in ancient times), unless you have a personal interest in the case. But on the other hand, if you feel that a person has engaged in a fight for your right to freedom, your right to be treated with justice and your right to a dignified life, you can consider that you have a vested interest in his cause, and empathize with it to the point where the conversion to his beliefs would not be a very remote possibility.
The ultimate tragedy
Hussein, the grand-son of the prophet Mohammed , is revered by Muslims as the “Prince of Martyrs”. He was killed in Karbala in a day that has been designated as Ashura – the tenth day of the Islamic month of Muharram – because he refused to swear allegiance to the corrupt and tyrannical caliph, Yazid.
With his family and his companions [72 people], he was in the desert surrounded by an army of 30,000 men under siege until they were sorely lacking food and water, and then beheaded in the most gruesome manner an epic and compelling story reported on the pulpits every year since the day he was killed. Their bodies were mutilated. In the words of the English historian Edward Gibbon , “[Even] in an era and a distant climate, the tragic scene of the death of Hussein will awaken the sympathy of the coldest reader.
Shiite Muslims from that day mourned the death of Hussein, especially during the day of Ashura and 40 days later, during the Arbaeen . Forty days is the usual period of mourning in many Muslim traditions. This year Arbaeen falls Friday, 12 December [2014].
Long walk
I traveled to Karbala, my own ancestral home, to find out for myself why this city is so intoxicating. What I have seen has shown me that even the widest angle of the lens for the best camera is too narrow to capture the spirit of this tumultuous gathering but peaceful.
An avalanche of men, women and children, but most visibly veiled women in black, fills the eye from one end of the horizon to the other. The crowds were so huge that they caused congestion hundreds of kilometers.
500 miles away from the southern port city of Basra and Karbala already a long drive, but it’s an incredibly difficult journey on foot. It takes two full weeks to pilgrims to make this journey. People of all ages under the hot sun during the day and freezing cold at night. They travel through rough terrain, on uneven roads, through terrorist strongholds and dangerous swamps, and without travel equipment or the most basic amenities, pilgrims taking little to share their ardent love for “Master” Hussein. Flags and banners remind them to them and to the whole world, the object of their journey:
O my soul, you’re worthless after Hussein.
My life and my death are one and the same,
If they take me for a fool, whatever!
This message contains verses recited by Abbas, the half brother of Hussein and his faithful lieutenant – also killed during the Battle of Karbala in the year 680 AD – while trying to fetch water for his nieces and nephews who were suffering terribly from thirst. The current security situation is catastrophic state in which Iraq the first title information in the world, no doubt that this statement is true in all meanings.
Free breakfast … and even dinner and breakfast!
One part of the pilgrimage that will leave every visitor perplexed is the sight of thousands of tents with makeshift kitchens set up by the villagers who are around the route of the pilgrims. The tents (called “mawkeb”) are places where pilgrims receive almost everything they need. Hot meals, space to rest, free international calls to reassure anxious parents, diapers, etc. Virtually all equipment that may be needed pilgrims are provided. In fact, the pilgrims will not need to carry anything on this journey of 500 kilometers, except the clothes they wear.
More intriguing is how the pilgrims are invited to eat and drink. Those organizing the “mawkeb” intercept pilgrims on their way and the urge to accept their offers, which often include a complete suite of services worthy of kings is first offers a foot massage, then you offers a delicious hot meal, and you are invited to relax while your clothes are washed and ironed, and then returned to you after your nap. All for free, of course.
For comparison, consider this: in the wake of the earthquake in Haiti, and with the sympathy and support from around the world, the World Food Programme of the United Nations hasannounced the delivery of a half-million meals to more high degree of relief efforts. The army of the United States launched Operation Unified Response, bringing together the massive resources of various federal agencies and announcing that in the next five months the humanitarian disaster, 4.9 million meals were delivered to the Haitians. Now compare that with more than 50 million meals a day for Arbaeen, which is equivalent to about 700 million meals for the duration of the pilgrimage, all financed not by the United Nations or international charities, but by workers and poor farmers who are tightening their belts to feed pilgrims and can save throughout the year so that the needs of visitors are satisfied. Everything, including security, is provided primarily by volunteers, whose fighters have an eye on Daech and another on the protection of the journey of the pilgrims. “To know what Islam teaches, says a mawkeb organizer, do not watch the actions of a few hundreds barbaric terrorist, but the selfless sacrifice shown by millions of pilgrims for Arbaeen.
In fact, Arbaeen should be listed in the Guinness Book of Records in several categories: the largest annual gathering, the longest dining table continuously, the largest number of people fed for free, the largest group of volunteers participating in a single event, all under imminent threat of suicide attacks.
Unparalleled devotion
Merely to contemplate these multitudes is breathtaking. What makes this scene even more spectacular is that while security conditions deteriorate, more and more people are willing to defy terrorist threats and to participate in the march in protest. Thus, the pilgrimage is not simply a religious exercise, but a courageous affirmation of resistance. The videos posted online showed suicide bombers blow themselves up in the middle of the pilgrims, with the only consequence of crowds that are always more numerous, and sing in unison:
If they cut our legs and hands,
We carry on even to the holy land!
The horrific bombings that occur throughout the year, mainly targeting Shiite pilgrims and taking countless lives, illustrate the dangers faced Shiites living in Iraq, and insecurity continues to infect the country. However, the imminent threat of death does not seem to deter people – young and old, Iraqis and foreigners – to undertake the dangerous journey to the holy city.
It is not easy for a foreigner to understand what inspires pilgrims. Women carrying children seen in their arms, old men in wheelchairs, people on crutches, blind and elderly people into walking sticks. I met a father who had traveled all the way from Basra with his disabled son. This 12 year old child had cerebral palsy and could not walk without help. Thus, for part of the walk, the father placed the feet of the boy on his own and walked with him by holding the armpits. This is the kind of story from which Oscar-winning films are made, but it seems that Hollywood is more interested in the comic book hero by those of real life whose superpowers are courage and commitment.
The Golden Dome Hussein
Visitors to the shrine of Hussein and his brother Abbas are not motivated solely by emotion. They cry at the memory of his agonizing death, and in doing so, reaffirm their commitment to its ideals.
The first thing that pilgrims do after reaching the sanctuary is to recite the Ziyara , a sacred text that recalls the status of Hussein. They begin the recitation by calling Hussein the “heir” of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus. There is something deep in this proclamation. It shows that the message of Hussein, a message of truth, justice and love for the oppressed, is considered an inseparable extension of all the divinely appointed prophets.
People do not go to Karbala to marvel at the landscape of the city – lush date palms – to admire the architectural beauty of the mausoleum, to shop, entertain, or visit ancient historical sites. They go there to cry. To mourn and feel the aura of angelic Hussein. They enter the sacred shrine weeping and lamenting the greatest act of sacrifice in history.
It is as if each individual had established a personal relationship with this man he has never seen. They talk to him and call him by name; they grip the walls of his tomb; they kiss the floor leading to the sanctuary; they touch its walls and doors in the same way you touch the face of a long-lost friend. It is a picturesque vision of epic proportions. What motivates these people is something that requires an understanding of the nature and status of Imam Hussein and the spiritual relationship that those who got to know him have developed with the living legend.
If the world consisted of Hussein, his message and his sacrifice, he would begin to understand the ancient roots of Daech [Islamic State] and his death credo and destruction. It’s there for centuries in Karbala, humanity has witnessed the genesis of monstrosities senseless, embodied in Hussein’s assassins. It was the battle of the darkest darkness against the brilliant and absolute light, the exhibition of vice against virtue of the archetype, which explains the power of Hussein today in spectrum. His presence is overwhelming woven into every aspect of the lives of pilgrims. His legend encourages, inspires, and champions of change for a better world, and no media blackout will turn off its light.
“Who is this Hussein? “For hundreds of millions of his supporters, so profound a question, which can cause people to give up their religion for another, can be answered only after a pilgrimage on foot to the shrine of Hussein.
