AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): The Karbala Provincial Council announced that approximately 6 million pilgrims participated in mourning rituals on the day of Ashura in the holy city of Karbala on Wednesday.
These pilgrims came from both Iraq and other countries to take part in the Ashura mourning ceremony, Al-Alam reported on Thursday.
Prior to the event, service, security, and health institutions had declared the success of their special plans for the Ashura ceremony and Rakdha Tuwairaj mourning.
Iraq's Communications and Media Commission noted that 725 journalists and 84 TV channels covered the Ashura mourning rituals this year.
Additionally, the Ministry of Electricity of Iraq praised the success of their special plan for the Ashura ceremony, ensuring a 24-hour electricity supply in Karbala city.
Najaf International Airport also reported hosting over 71,000 pilgrims from the 1st to the 9th of Muharram.
The annual Rakdha Tuwairaj takes place after the noon prayers of Ashura. The ritual symbolizes people’s enthusiasm to help Imam Hussein (AS). Iraq marked Ashura on Wednesday, July 17, after Grand Ayatollah Seyed Ali al-Sistani declared July 8 as the first day of Muharram. In many other countries, Shia Muslims commemorated Ashura on Tuesday.
Rakdha Tuwairaj is a ritual on Ashura in which mourners walk barefoot from the town of Hindya (formerly known as Tuwairaj) near Karbala to the holy shrines of Imam Hussein (AS) and Hazrat Abbas (AS) while beating their head and chest and then leave the shrines within a short time.
It is a way of renewing allegiance with the aspirations of the Ashura uprising. Initiated by a renowned figure in Karbala’s Hindiya District, named Mirza Salih Qazvini, the ritual has been held every year for some 150 years, with the exception of the time the Ba’athist regime of former dictator Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq.
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