In the 2023 Arbaeen procession, the Iraqi people sincerely hosted millions of pilgrims from across the globe. This outstanding hosting was appreciated by the world, en.mehrnews.com reported.
Every year, Iraq receives millions of Imam Hussein (AS) lovers of different races and ethnicities who go to Karbala mostly on foot during the Arbaeen procession. The Arbaeen ceremony is held more magnificently every year.
Last year, nearly 21 million pilgrims participated in the ceremony. Considering this year's statistics, a significant increase in the number of pilgrims is witnessed; The Iraqi government has announced that 25 million people took part in this year's Arbaeen pilgrimage.
While Iraq was having its hottest days during this year's Arbaeen procession days and the temperature in most parts of the country reached more than 40 degrees, the number of pilgrims significantly increased compared to the previous years. Despite the hot weather, Arbaeen pilgrims trekked long distances to reach the shrines of Imam Hussain (AS) and Hazrat Abbas (AS).
In such a situation, the presence of pilgrims from Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Sweden, South Korea, and China along with pilgrims from Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Syria, Sudan, and Nigeria was noticed by media outlets.
The glory of hosting
Now this question comes to mind: "How did the Iraqis host millions of pilgrims?" To answer this question, we depict their hospitality in a glimpse.
As in every year, the Iraqi mawkibs (voluntarily prepared stations) this year started their activities a few weeks before Arbaeen in order to serve the pilgrims more successfully. Of course, the Iranians also set mawkibs to help the Iraqis in hosting the pilgrims as well.
