Iraq is to host millions of Shiite pilgrims in the city of Karbala at the climax of a key religious ceremony — despite warnings of overcrowding in scorching hot weather.
The commemoration ceremony, known as Arbaeen, marks the end of the 40-day mourning period for Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed.
The religious ritual draws pilgrims to visit the gold-domed shrine containing Imam Hussein.
This year, the pilgrimage is set to take place on September 16 and 17.
Imam Hussein was killed in battle at Karbala in the 7th century along with his family members and close aides. Those who survived were taken to Damascus, Syria and held captive.
It started when Imam Hussein protested against the second Umayyad caliph, Yazid bin Muawiyah, who was based in Damascus.
His death is considered as a defining moment for Shiite Muslims.
What is Arbaeen?
The Arbaeen pilgrimage is perhaps Iraq's most “symbolically potent event”, Marsin Alshamary, a research fellow at Harvard University's Middle East told The National.
“It attracts both the religious and the non-practising and is an act of community and gathering. Religiously, it is what defines Shiism and, for [Shiite] individuals all over the world, it is a cherished practice,” Ms Al Shammary said.
However, politically, it is a “representation of overcoming oppression and has been utilised as such by savvy politicians over the years”.
What happens during the pilgrimage?
The pilgrimage consists of a long walk from different areas inside and outside of Iraq.
“The whole thing started when people used to make the visit. First of all there was no cars. Those who owned a camel or horse or any other form of an animal would take that and those who [did not] would walk,” said Abbas Kadhim, director of the Atlantic Council's Iraq Initiative.
Walking allows pilgrims to feel the suffering of Imam Hussein's family, who walked from Damascus to Karbala, Mr Kadhim said.
“It is said the family of Imam Hussein, after they were released from captivity, visited the place and they walked there. People say I’m going to share with them that pain and experience,” he told The National.
“In those days, life was dangerous, it was understood that the more hardship you go through, the more rewards you get.”
During the walk, pilgrims are met by volunteers who have set up tents along the roads to distribute free food and drinks and offer places for them to rest.
This shows the generosity of Iraqis, Mr Kadhim said.
Why have there been attempts to ban the pilgrimage?
During the reign of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, the pilgrimage was “heavily surveilled by the government”.
“In some years, it even tried to ban it as it brought a lot of trouble to participants,” Ms Al Shammary said.
The US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 ended Saddam's three-decade rule, during which he persecuted groups such as the Shiites and Kurds.
“After 2003, the first pilgrimage was a mass outpouring for people who had wanted to participate for years but were unable to,” she said.
Additionally, “Iraq was no longer a pariah state so foreigners could also come and participate”, she said, adding that the pilgrim numbers grew every year.
Why do so many people take part?
Arbaeen is known to be the biggest annual gathering of Shiite Muslims worldwide.
The most important development is the freedom that was given to people to exercise their religious rituals and to visit the shrines without any hindrance.
“Most of the history, in the past 1,400 years, Shiites have not been so free as compared to after 2003,” Mr Kadhim told The National.
“Various governments took different policies, some banned any manifestation to the family of the Prophet and, especially, Imam Hussein,” he said.
They faced harsh consequences such as death or prison sentences.
“In 1983 to 1984, Baath [the former ruling political party] archives tell us that close to 500,000 people participated and they faced dire consequences but they did it anyway,” he said.
The freedom that people enjoy now has encouraged Shiites to join the pilgrimage over the years and that is why we see huge numbers of participants, Mr Kadhim said.
The number of visitors has risen since 2014, which has been attributed to the easing of visa requirements for Iranians, especially as they make the largest number of foreigners.
It is known that Sunnis, Christians and other sects and religious minorities usually take part in the pilgrimage.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
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Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
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Cherry
Directed by: Joe and Anthony Russo
Starring: Tom Holland, Ciara Bravo
1/5
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
The years Ramadan fell in May
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%3Cp%3EEncourage%20innovation%20in%20the%20metaverse%20field%20and%20boost%20economic%20contribution%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EDevelop%20outstanding%20talents%20through%20education%20and%20training%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EDevelop%20applications%20and%20the%20way%20they%20are%20used%20in%20Dubai's%20government%20institutions%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAdopt%2C%20expand%20and%20promote%20secure%20platforms%20globally%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EDevelop%20the%20infrastructure%20and%20regulations%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ogram%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Karim%20Kouatly%20and%20Shafiq%20Khartabil%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20On-demand%20staffing%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2050%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMore%20than%20%244%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20round%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Series%20A%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EGlobal%20Ventures%2C%20Aditum%20and%20Oraseya%20Capital%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
The Voice of Hind Rajab
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Rating: 4/5
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1. Fasting
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Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
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Price: Dh683,200
On sale: now
Points to remember
- Debate the issue, don't attack the person
- Build the relationship and dialogue by seeking to find common ground
- Express passion for the issue but be aware of when you're losing control or when there's anger. If there is, pause and take some time out.
- Listen actively without interrupting
- Avoid assumptions, seek understanding, ask questions
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
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Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
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Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
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Price: On request
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Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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