AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Since 2016, the al-Nujaba Islamic Resistance Movement has been responsible for organizing thousands of pilgrims from Turkish and Azerbaijani caravans to Iraq during the time of the Arbaeen al-Husayni pilgrimage and from the moment they entered and left the country, al-Nujaba provided full security coverage.
According to the Communication and Media Affairs Centre of al-Nujaba in Iran, for the sixth consecutive year, the al-Nujaba Islamic Resistance Movement managed and secured caravans of pilgrims from Turkey and Azerbaijan during the Arbaeen al-Husayni pilgrimage. In this regard, in addition to facilitating ziyarah (pilgrimage) to the holy shrines in Iraq, the clerics commissioned their own missionaries to hold various cultural programs on various topics, such as explaining the tragedy of Ashura, the role of the Ahl al-Bayt in various fields in their era, and analyzing the current situation in the Islamic world.
The caravan, consisting of one thousand Turkish-speaking pilgrims, entered Iraq on Monday, the 13th of Safar [September 20]. They were under the protection of al-Nujaba’s Kirkuk office from the very beginning and with al-Nujaba providing security and providing welfare services, the pilgrims travelled to Najaf and from there, they joined the march of millions of lovers of Aba Abdillah [Imam al-Husayn] to Karbala. The pilgrims then travelled to al-Kadhimiyyah and Samarra to visit the shrines of the Ahl al-Bayt there and finally returned to their countries on Thursday, the 23rd of Safar [September 30].
This year, the project was given special attention by Shaykh Akram al-Kaabi, the secretary-general of the al-Nujaba Islamic Resistance Movement, and the regional offices in Baghdad, as well as the provincial offices in Najaf and Karbala, supported the caravan of pilgrims from the two countries. The pilgrims also waved their flags alongside the flags of their countries along the entire route in appreciation of al-Nujaba.
The Turkish and Azerbaijani pilgrims were noticed by various Turkish-language media outlets as they entered the holy shrine of Sayyid al-Shuhada [The Master of the Martyrs] waving the flags of al-Nujaba and chanting “Death to America,” “Death to Israel” and “Labbayk Ya Khamenei [We are at your service, Oh Khamenei].” While the pilgrims were walking to Karbala, several satellite channels from Turkey and Azerbaijan broadcast the mourning ceremonies of the caravan live.
In this regard, the director of the office of the al-Nujaba Movement in Kirkuk, which accompanied the caravan during the duration of the Turkish and Azerbaijani pilgrims’ stay in Iraq, said, “Organizing and guiding the foreign pilgrims of Imam al-Husayn is in line with the jihadi duties of this movement that we have acted on. The relationship of the Iraqi people with the people of Turkey and Azerbaijan is at an acceptable level, and this will rise to the borders of brotherhood among the lovers of the Ahl al-Bayt. What was interesting to us was that the pilgrims eagerly raised the flags of al-Nujaba in front of the cameras of Turkish-language media outlets in appreciation of the movement’s unexpected services.”
In conclusion, he pointed to the possible security risks of advancing the presence of a convoy of one thousand pilgrims on Iraqi soil, saying, “Thanks to the sincere efforts of our colleagues in the movement, no direct or indirect security threats were made against our Turkish and Azerbaijani pilgrims during the ten-day trip.”
