Shafaqna English– Each year, during Ashura and Arbaeen, Iraq’s Karbala is filled with pilgrims mourning the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (AS). The number of pilgrims in Karbala continued to grow each year, particularly during Ashura and Arbaeen. Imam Hussain (AS) cemented Karbala’s place at the core of Shia Islam identity as a lasting symbol of sacrifice.
In 2024, the Arbaeen pilgrimage drew an astonishing 22.5 million visitors, according to Iraq’s Ministry of Interior, making it the largest annual religious gathering on the planet, surpassing even the Hajj (annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia). As historian Abbas Al-Saidi put it: “In Karbala, history is not behind us. It walks with us every day.”
British explorer Austen Henry Layard once described Karbala as “one of the richest cities in Mesopotamia.”
Periods of violence did not halt the city’s evolution. After the fall of Saddam Hussain’s (AS) government in 2003, Karbala’s shrines reopened to international pilgrims. In the years that followed, terrorist attacks frequently targeted the gatherings, but the number of visitors continued to grow.
Source: Shafaq News