ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Feyli Kurds have set up volunteer booths, known locally as mawkibs, to serve meals and refreshments to millions of Shiite Muslims undertaking pilgrimage in Iraq's holy shrine cities of Najaf and Karbala in an effort to promote unity and coexistence ahead of Tuesday's processions marking Arbaeen, one of the world’s largest religious gatherings.
"We make no distinction between Arabs, Kurds, and Christians, nor between Sunnis and Shiites. All components exist within the caravans, even non-Arabs and foreigners," Jamil Miran, operating one of the booths, told Rudaw's Hiwa Hussamadin on Monday.
"Our primary goal in this work is to convey the message to Imam Hussain and tell Imam Hussain that the entire Islamic world is one, and there is no difference between Kurds, Arabs, Turkmens, and all components," said Mohammed Salman, another organizer.
The annual Arbaeen pilgrimage is one of the world's largest religious gatherings, drawing millions of Shiite Muslims to Karbala to mark the end of the 40-day mourning period for Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, who was killed in the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD.
Feyli Kurds are a minority Shiite Kurdish community who mainly live in southern Baghdad and in some of the disputed areas in the southern part of the Kurdistan Region, with communities concentrated in Khanaqin district near the Iranian border. A large population also resides in Iran.
Organizers told Rudaw they provided meals and refreshments at their own expense to pilgrims during the period leading up to Arbaeen.
Abdul-Hassan Bawi, who also operates a service tent, said the initiative has expanded significantly over the years.
"At first we were ten people, more or less. Now, with God's help, we number more than a hundred people. We serve the pilgrims and do not make a distinction between anyone, whether they are Shiite, Sunni, Kurdish or Arab - we are all one," he said.
Arbaeen has seen a significant number of Iranian pilgrims participating annually.
"I prayed that the problems of my Kurdish brothers, whether in Iran, Iraq, Turkey, or Syria, will be resolved with God's help,” said Ahmed Yousif, a pilgrim from the western Iranian city of Ilam bordering Iraq.
According to Iraqi Security media spokesperson and Major General Saad Maan, nearly 4.5 million pilgrims from 172 countries have arrived in Iraq as of Friday.
Arabaeen marks the end of a 40-day mourning period commemorating the Imam’s death and is one of the most important rituals in Shiite Islam.
The 80-kilometer journey by foot begins in Ras al-Bishah, near Iraq’s southern borders with Iran and Kuwait, near the Gulf. Pilgrims customarily dress in black, march through the streets, and often self-flagellate with chains and wood. The walk ends at the shrine of Imam Hussein in Karbala.
