Five main reasons why 10-20 million pilgrims in Karbala work vs 2-4 in Hajj are a ticking bomb for the next catastrophe:
1-Freedom vs Control
Saudi is synonymous with suffocating control. Their obsessive desire to hegemonize hajj leads to quotas, weird and ever changing rules, heartless baton wielding ‘shurtas’ herding of crowds in narrow passages and so on. In Iraq the only management is of security (thanks to Saudi-backed blood thirsty terrorists) otherwise the entire event is managed by volunteers who are devotees themselves. No draconian control is required in the movement of enormous crowds, people are not sheep and they are trusted to handle themselves. This fact is not lost on Iraqis, which leads to.
2-Hospitality
The most stunning spectacle of generosity and warmth is displayed by millions of Iraqis. Simply put you can’t accommodate 10 million people without 5 million hosts. Every Iraqi home, tent, kitchen, crops, shops, tea kettles, even mobile chargers are dedicated for pilgrims for the duration of Arbaeen. Iraqi farmers don’t have much but their everything is for the pilgrims. I always end up gaining weight because of an endless supply of food, chai, soups, juices etc. which the hosts are genuinely hurt if you don’t accept it. One can literally walk in any house in Karbala to rest, to eat etc. Not even a tiny semblance of that exists in Saudi Arabia, where hajj is a grotesque commercial venture of ‘religious tourism’ and to fill 1000 room monstrosities built by some prince, speaking of which,
3-Genuine equity
There is no vip arbaeen, no special route for the royals, no blocking of people to grant special access to princes and their billionaire friends…(latest massacre in Mina is caused by blocking off the access to Jamrat for the king’s son) you can’t buy your way into the shrines..period!
4-Freedom and flexibility in performing rituals
There is no strict interpretation of what it means to be at Arbaeen, millions of Iraqis are seen out in the street reading the ‘ziyarat’ (prayer for the visitation of shrines) without the obsession of shoving their way in. Ziyarat can be done at any time spread over three four days , there are thousands of mourning processions which one can participate in, owing to.
5-Cultural and spiritual coherence
Arbaeen is more than religion, it’s the coming together of 100’s of traditions of remembrance, literature, mourning, all emanating from a coherent narrative of Karbala. This narrative provides rich bases for mourners to participate in each and everyone’s devotion. I have observed Arbaeen with Iraqis, Lebanese, Azerbaijanis, Turks, Iranians, Nigerians, Tanzanians, and many more.never once felt like an outsider, in fact felt loved and welcome.
I pray that all can learn from this annual miracle in Karbala.
