ABWA Official Website – On Wednesday morning, September 18, 2024, the closing ceremony of the international event “We are the children of Imam Hussain (a.s.)” was held, and the “Special Poster of Arbaeen in 63 World Countries” was unveiled in the conference hall of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.
Hamid Makarem, representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Qom said, “Arbaeen is a great epic. People from all over the Islamic world, even from non-Islamic countries, attend the Arbaeen ceremony. This ceremony has a wide reflection inside Iran as well. But it is faced with a strong news and media boycott at the international level, for which a serious plan should be considered.”
“Some people from non-Islamic countries come to the Arbaeen event voluntarily. The news boycott should be broken and the subtleties and beauties of Arbaeen should be reflected in the world,” he continued.
Referring to the mood of Arbaeen in Iraq, the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Qom said, “The feeling that Iraqi people, from small children to old men, have towards Arbaeen, and the way they welcome the pilgrims of Imam Hussain (a.s.) is unique. As I was in Iraq for 3 years, as the consul-general of Iran Najaf, I had many interactions with Iraqis. Iraqi people dedicate a money box in their house for the Arbaeen pilgrimage. From their childhood, they used to collect their money little by little in this money box during the year so they could spend it on giving service to the pilgrims during Arbaeen and have a share in this pilgrimage.”
“If an Iraqi cannot do something for the Arbaeen pilgrimage, he feels guilty. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the days when few Iranian and foreign pilgrims traveled to Iraq, an Iraqi official told me, “My wife cries, saying that this year is the year of sadness and loneliness and we cannot bear the loss of Arbaeen pilgrims”,” Hamid Makarem continued.
“We only depict scenes of Arbaeen from above, like waves of people. But we need to go inside each house and Mowkeb, visit each, and capture the beautiful interactions between the host and the guest or pilgrim,” he said at the end.
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