Iraq receives almost 2 million pilgrims from Iran for Arbaeen, less than previous years

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iranian authorities on Sunday stated that over 1.8 million pilgrims have traveled to the neighboring country of Iraq to perform the annual Shia religious ceremony in the holy city of Karbala.

Sixty-one percent of pilgrims crossed through the Mehran border gate, 23 percent through the Shalamcheh crossing, 13 percent through Chazzabeh, and three percent traveled to Iraq by air, Deputy Police Commander and Brigadier General, Ayyoub Soleimani, told reporters at the Chazzabeh gate.

He mentioned that the number of Arbaeen pilgrims had decreased by eight percent compared to the 2017 figures.

The official also revealed that, of the total number of the pilgrims traveling from Iran to Iraq, 150,000 of them were foreign nationals, noting that their ratio had increased compared to the years before.

Every year, Iraq hosts over two million Iranian pilgrims for Arbaeen. It is a major Shia event marking the end of 40 mourning days after Ashura.

The pilgrimage marks the martyrdom in 680 of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammad, who refused to accept the leadership of the “usurper,” Caliph Yazid, and was massacred along with his followers at Karbala.

“I go because my heart demands it of me, I go because of my love for Imam Hussein,” Morteza Taghikhani told AFP, a 39-year-old auto worker who has already completed the pilgrimage five times before.

His wife and young children were accompanying him for the first time: "They insisted on coming. Though it is a difficult trip, they’ve enjoyed it so much."

Near the shrine, every few meters, there are free shoeshine stands, and when the pilgrims take off their shoes, the attendants kiss their feet as a sign of respect. For Shias, the Arbaeen march is so holy that just serving the pilgrims is thought to bring divine reward.

In addition to neighboring Iran, Shias from different parts of Iraq flock to the holy shrine of Imam Hussein in Karbala to participate in the mourning ceremony.

Editing by Nadia Riva