Shia worshippers gather between the holy shrines of Imam Hussein and Imam Abbas in Karbala, Iraq. —AP

AP Baghdad

Tens of thousands of pilgrims arrived in the Iraqi city of Karbala ahead of Ashoura, the holy day on which Shia Muslims commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. The annual pilgrimage is one of the largest religious events in the Shia world.

Ashoura holds deep religious and historical significance for Shias, marking the 680 AD Battle of Karbala, in which Imam Hussein, along with his family and companions, was killed after he refused to pledge allegiance to the Umayyad caliphate, cementing the schism between Sunni and Shia Islam. For Shias, the commemoration has come to symbolise resistance against tyranny and injustice.

The event on Sunday comes in the wake of unprecedented regional escalation, following the recent Israel-Iran war, as well as other dramatic developments including the fall of Syria’s former president Bashar Assad — an ally of Iran — in December and the killing of Hassan Nasrallah, longtime leader of the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah. The streets of Karbala were carpeted in red and lined with stations offering food and water to the pilgrims, who came from Iraq’s provinces and from abroad, including large numbers from Iran, the Gulf states, Lebanon and Pakistan. 

Black-clad men, women, and children gathered around the shrines of Imam Hussein and his brother Abbas, performing traditional mourning rituals including chest-beating, elegies, and lamentations. Although the occasion is religious in nature, participants chanted against Israel and the US as they processed through the streets of Karbala. Many banners expressed support for the “Axis of Resis­tance”, a cluster of Iran-backed factions and governments.