Karbala shrouded in mournful blackness for Arbaeen

KARBALA / IraqiNews.com: Umm Adhraa, who came from Najaf to Karbala, was not surprised to see swarms of people in a city exploding with blackness and catastrophic sadness. Realizing she is unable to push forward her baby in the stroller amidst this stifling crowd, she placed the baby on her right shoulder and dived gradually deeper and deeper into a sea of blackness while whispering to herself “the reward would be worth the toil.” Umm Adhraa is not alone on this. Many visitors to Karbala know when starting that long trek from their cities to the holy Shiite city for the Arbaeen of Imam al-Hussein that there would be no foothold. The Arbaeen pilgrimage, which falls on Monday (Feb. 16) is a religious occasion marking the 40th day after the death of Imam al-Hussein, the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson and the third holiest figure for Shiite Muslims, in the battle of Taf in Karbala in the Hijri year 61 (680 in the Gregorian calendar). Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from inside and outside Iraq were flowing on foot into the city for the holy rituals. Tight security measures have been in force and a large number of security personnel have been deployed in Iraq’s holy sites in preparation for the occasion. Karbala, said to be housing the tombs of Imam al-Hussein and his brother Imam al-Abbas, lies 130 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. “I’ve never expected to see such crowds of people meeting at crossroads of provinces. Whenever we pass a town, another procession joins in until we reach Karbala,” Hussein Ahmed, a local resident of the city of al-Nassiriya, capital of Thi-Qar province, told IraqiNews.com news agency. Ahmed said he agreed with some friends and neighbors to attend the Arbaeen by going all the way to Karbala on foot for the first time. “It looked as if all of Iraq is heading for Karbala,” he added. Ammar Hassan, Ahmed’s neighbor, said the scene down here is just a big block of bodies. “When I climbed up a roof of one of the hotels, tears ran down my cheeks. It was not only over the death of Imam al-Hussein but also over the Iraqis who forget about hunger, exhaustion and even their enemies. They just have one thing on their minds; it is unity in times of trouble that everybody feel as if they are all brothers,” Hassan said. On whether fear and hesitation haunted these crowds swarming to Karbala, Latif al-Djeheishi, a local resident of al-Samawa province, replied that “Iraqis are not afraid to die. On the other hand, we should never surrender to those murderers of all Iraqis, not only Shiites.” In 2004, on the 10th day of the Hegira month of Muharram, the anniversary of the death of Imam al-Hussein, Karbala has been rocked by eight suicide bombing attacks in different areas in the central part of the city, leaving several hundreds of pilgrims killed or wounded. Ahmed Ali of Karbala denounced the ban imposed during the former regime’s time on these rituals. “The former regime used to execute whoever performs these rituals but could not eventually prevent them. Why should terrorist bombing attacks prevent them?” wondered Ali. He said his house was one of many keeping welcoming doors for pilgrims from other Iraqi provinces. Abbas al-Amiri did not show any signs of exhaustion although he walked all the way from the port city of Basra to Karbala – about 524 km. “After 10 days of non-stop walking, I never felt I am tired. Perhaps there was some inner invisible power that we had in store or may be it was that collective enthusiasm and zealous desire to consummate these religious rituals in defiance of those who seek Iraqi bloodshed,” said Amiri. AmR (R)/SR 1