AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): An official says the slogan of this year’s Arbaeen procession was picked based on the ongoing brutal Israeli oppression against the Palestinian people.
Every year, the Arbaeen slogan is carefully chosen based on existing conditions and requirements as a group of domestic and foreign activists and experts are consulted in this process, Hojat-ol-Islam Hamid Ahmadi, head of the cultural committee of Iran’s Arbaeen Headquarters, told IQNA on Sunday.
This year, the selection procedure began earlier to allow people preparing cultural products and programs related to Arbaeen to start their activities sooner, he added.
During April and May of this year, review sessions for the Arbaeen slogan were held with Iraqi officials, according to Ahmadi.
There is growing awareness worldwide about the immense cruelty inflicted by the Israeli regime upon the people of Palestine and Gaza, he said.
Given Arbaeen's role as an “anti-oppression and anti-aggression” movement, discussions centered on incorporating the issue of Palestine and Gaza into its cultural movement, he added.
The slogan "Karbala Tariq al-Aqsa" (Karbala Path to al-Aqsa) was chosen to symbolize the liberation and freedom of Quds, Ahmadi highlighted.
This choice reflects the connection between Karbala, the Ashura movement, and the path toward freedom for Palestine, he said.
The comments come as more than 37,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli regime’s aggression on Gaza since October last year. The majority of victims are women and children.
Arbaeen is also known as the Ziyarat of Arbaeen, which means the visitation of Imam Hussein’s (AS) shrine in Karbala, Iraq, where his body is buried. Ziyarat is an act of pilgrimage and devotion in Shia Islam.
Arbaeen is one of the largest annual pilgrimages in the world, with millions of Shia Muslims from different countries walking to Karbala from various cities in Iraq and neighboring countries. The distance can range from 80 km to 500 km or more, depending on the starting point.
This year’s Arbaeen is expected to fall on August 25, depending on the moonsighting.
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