The ceremony was held in the headquarters of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization in Tehran, Iqna.ir reported.
Amir Ali Javadian, a representative of the panel of arbiters said that a total of 4,800 works from 1,080 individuals in different categories of photography, films, books, etc. were received by the secretariat of the event.
In the photography category, Ahmad Abdul Amir from Iraq won the title, and Iran’s Hadi Dehghanpour and Arjan Arsalan from Turkey stood next.
Mohammad Faraj Salehi from Iran claimed the 1st rank of professional films and Iran’s Ruhollah Asadi Kiadehi was announced, runner-up. Mohammad Azizi from Iran and Elchin Aghazada from the Republic of Azerbaijan stood next.
The category of popular films had no top winner but Zahra Lempan from Thailand and Ali Soltani from Iran gained second and third places.
In the category of travelogue, Maryam Ghandi from Iran, Abbas Karim Almohammadavi from Iraq, and Mohammad Etemadi from Afghanistan gained top three awards.
In the category of social media pages, Iraq’s Al-Noreen Facebook page claimed the title while Ahlulbayttv page in Instagram from UK and Hoseiniee page in Instagram from Iran ranked next.
And finally, in the book category, Mohammadreza Abedini from Iran gained the top prize. Iran's Mohammaderza Pouyafar and Serbia's Serjan Markovich achieved the next ranks.
Addressing the event, the head of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization (ICOR) Hojat-ol-Islam Mohammad Mehdi Imanipour said that the closing ceremony was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic restrictions.
Speaking about the March of Arbaeen, the cleric noted that the event paves the way for the formation of modern Islamic civilization as it attracts thousands of people who love Ahl al Bayt (AS).
He lauded the participation of people from 24 countries in this year’s edition of the international award despite the problems that were in place for traveling to Iraq during Arbaeen due to the pandemic.
Neutralizing enemies’ plans to distort the image of Iran in Iraq and vice versa, formation of moral virtues such as friendship, keeping the uprising of Imam Hussein (AS) alive, and showcasing the authority and power of Ahl al Bayt (AS) followers are among the features of the great March of Arbaeen, he said.
The fact that media affiliated to arrogant powers censor this popular event shows the influence of this movement, he said, noting, “This doubles our responsibility for documenting the Arbaeen.”
The poster of the 8th edition of the international award was also unveiled in the program:
ICRO has organized the Arabeen Award since 2014 with the aim of reflecting the manifestations of this international religious event to the world.
Wherever words cannot convey the greatness of a message, the best communication medium would be the language of art. That is why ICRO decided to hold the international award annually in the categories of photos, videos, and travelogues, with the aim of spreading the message of Arbaeen and Ashura.
Arbaeen, which is one of the largest religious gatherings in the world, comes 40 days after Ashura, the martyrdom anniversary of the third Imam in Islam, Hussein Bin Ali (AS).
Each year, millions of Muslims and many non-Muslims, flock to the Iraqi city of Karbala, where the holy shrine of Imam Hussein (AS) is located, to perform mourning rites.
