By Mohammed Dhaher
Azzaman, December 8, 2014
Some say they are seven millions others say they can even be more but whatever the estimate it must be the largest gathering of people in one single spot in the world.
At least one million pilgrims are said to have poured from Iran to commemorate one of the holiest day in the Muslim Shiite calendar called the festival of Arabaeeniya.
There are pilgrims from different parts of the world as evidenced by a variety of flags raised amid a huge sea of people who have thronged on Karbala, Iraq’s holiest shrine.
The Arabaeeniya ceremony, currently taking place in Karbala, is believed to be the largest religious gatherings in the world and the authorities are taking unprecedented measures to guard millions of pilgrims against attacks by Islamic State insurgents.
The huge multitudes have gathered to mark the death of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Imam Hussein, who was killed with his family by Yazid, a Muslim ruler of Ummayad Caliphate of which Damascus was the capital.
Catering for such a massive gathering is beyond the means available to the Iraqi government, which mostly tries to ensure the safety of the pilgrims while matters related to the provision of amenities like food, lodging, drinking water, lodging and other essential are mainly done by volunteers.
Volunteering to serve the pilgrims is seen as charity for which God will pay handsomely in this world and the world after.
The poor offer water and the rich set up marquees along highways, roads and paths leading to Karbala and inside the city. Hundreds of thousands of people prefer to walk long distances and barefoot in reverence to their Imam and the holy city where he is buried.
Some buy sheep, camels, cattle and goats and fatten months before the occasion and then have them slaughtered to feed the pilgrims.
Others set up huge cauldrons in which they cook rice and soup for pilgrims to eat free of charge.
Baskets of fresh bread are made available by devout housewives with some even offering cookies and cake. Tea, coffee and soft drinks are plentiful.
As millions of pilgrims pay homage to their Imam, hundreds of thousands of people serve them voluntarily.
Catering for pilgrims during this year’s festival has been better than any year before since Iraqi Shiites started openly marking their anniversaries following the downfall of the regime of President Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Shiites are extremely devoted to their saints and their processions usually continue uninterrupted even following deadly attacks by violent groups such as al-Qaeda and Islamic State militants.
