Third ‘Muharramshahr’ Festival Begins at Azadi Square Amid Widespread Reactions
The third ‘Muharramshahr’ festival at Azadi Square has been met with extensive reactions.
Mostafa Zibaiinezad, General Director of Culture at Tehran Municipality, said at the press conference for Tehran’s religious festival ‘Muharramshahr’: “The third religious Muharramshahr festival, with the slogan ‘Iran and Hussein will triumph forever,’ will be held every night from Tuesday, July 22 to August 5 from 7 PM to 11 PM at Azadi Square.”
He added at the press conference: “The Muharramshahr festival is a religious, artistic, and ceremonial festival, and efforts have been made to use attractive and artistic elements. Accordingly, this year the ship symbol has been designed based on the Prophetic hadith ‘Hussein is the Ship of Salvation’ and has been established as the main symbol. The dimensions of this symbol are 530 square meters. Additionally, a space similar to the sacred shrines will be created at Azadi Square. Several programs have been designed for Muharramshahr that, considering the theme of the Islamic Republic’s power and national unity, alongside religious and ceremonial programs, we will also implement other public programs.”
Zibaiinezad emphasized: “Every night, speakers, drum groups, and eulogists are present at this religious festival. Alongside that, several interactive activities have been implemented, one of which is the installation of 7 tile-work structures with images of martyrs of power; people install these tile pieces, and after the end of Muharramshahr, these tile structures will be installed on 7 highways in the city. These structures are memorials to Iran’s oppressed martyrs in recent wars, one of which is related to child and women martyrs.”
He also referred to the Artists’ Tent and added: “In the Artists’ Tent, 10 inscriptions in dimensions of 10 by 25 meters will be calligraphed with the participation of calligraphy masters and the public, and these works will be installed at the Karbala Municipality stands along the Arbaeen pilgrimage route. The program’s décor changes every year; the first year it was the helmet of Hazrat Abbas, the second year a ring attributed to Imam Hussein (AS), and this year the entrance courtyard of Bab al-Qibla of Imam Hussein’s (AS) shrine has been designed and is ready for installation, creating a spiritual and heartwarming atmosphere.”
Tehran Municipality’s General Director of Culture announced the presence of street performance groups at this ceremony and added: “This year, two pavilions hosted by families of martyrs will welcome citizens, and the Arbaeen supplies exhibition with 67 booths will offer pilgrims’ necessities at reasonable prices.”
The installation of religious symbols at Azadi Square for the ‘Muharramshahr’ religious ceremony and the spread of its images on social media has sparked extensive reactions. The installation of this pavilion in Tehran’s major square comes as government officials, following the 12-day war between Israel and Iran and the announcement of a ceasefire, had turned to promoting nationalist symbols and patriotic songs. Additionally, by performing Iranian national songs through the Tehran Symphony Orchestra at Azadi Square, the Islamic Republic aimed to create a sense of love for Iran among the people.
Some users commented on the implementation of this ceremony, saying: “Setting up pavilions around historical and ancient sites has been trending for some time and has spread to almost all Iranian cities. They want to drag people toward their ideology under any circumstances, even if it means setting up congregational prayers and pavilions at the main square or pedestrian paths leading to the bazaar. In other words, people don’t go to mosques; instead, they’ve brought the mosque to the square.”
