Shiite faithful flock to Karbala ahead of Arbaeen

Описание: (26 Sep 2021) LEAD IN:
The streets of the Iraqi city of Karbala are filled with with Shiite Muslim pilgrims who arrived to commemorate Arbaeen.
The event marks the end of the 40-day mourning period for the death of Imam Hussein, Prophet Muhammad's grandson.

STORY-LINE:
Thousands of Shiite Muslim faithful arrived in the Iraqi city of Karbala to commemorate the Arbaeen, the end of the 40-day mourning period for the death of Imam Hussein, Prophet Muhammad's grandson.
Many of the pilgrims performed Shiite religious rituals such as chest-beating and chanting near and inside the city's iconic Imam Hussein Shrine.
The pilgrims arrived from Baghdad, Basra and elsewhere in the world of Shiite Islam to Karbala, most of them walking long distances as part of the pilgrimage.
They receive free medical care and medicines from the Ministry of Health medical teams deployed around the city.  
Volunteers also provide free meals along the roads to Karbala.
The festival is thought to be one of the largest regular gatherings in the world, dwarfing all other pilgrimages, including the Hajj.
  
The festivities will reach their climax on Tuesday when all pilgrims converge in the holy city to mark the Arbaeen.
Imam Hussein was massacred along with about 70 followers in Karbala by an army of Umayyads, their rivals for leadership of the Muslim community, in a battle in 680 AD.
Hussein's death cemented the split in Islam between Shiite and Sunni Muslims.  
Karbala is 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of Baghdad.

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