2 Million Iranians Expected to Register for Arbaeen Pilgrimage

TEHRAN (IQNA) – More than 100,000 Iranians have so far registered at the Samah website, launched to facilitate sending pilgrims to Iraq’s holy sites on Arbaeen, an official said.

Saeed Ohadi, head of Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, added that some 2 million people are expected to register for the pilgrimage.

He added that Tehran has asked Baghdad to have 16 consulates in different cities of Iran to ease the process of issuing visas for Iranians willing to go on the spiritual trip.

Arbaeen, which is one of the largest religious gatherings in the world, comes 40 days after Ashura, the martyrdom anniversary of the third Shia Imam, Imam Hussein (AS).

Each year, a huge crowd of Shias flock to Karbala, where the holy shrine of Imam Hussein (AS) is located, to perform mourning rites.

In the past few years, around 20 million pilgrims from all over the world, including Iran, gathered in Karbala to attend the mourning ceremonies marking Arbaeen.

This year, Arbaeen falls on Sunday, November 20.

http://iqna.ir/fa/news/3526421