What Does the Islamic Republic Do with Its People This Arbaeen?

Sohila.Sh, FCC News Agency: Arbaeen is approaching. Coinciding with the 18th of Aban this year, memories have resurfaced of over a hundred of our compatriots who lost their lives in last year’s Arbaeen unrest in Iraq.

Officials from the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization and an institution called the Office of the Supreme Leader have occupied the pulpits and loudspeakers, calling out. They emotionalize superficial Shiites and incite extremist beliefs to put more of our compatriots in danger.

Iraq is unstable these days. The latest news from this war-torn country speaks of hundreds of armored Iraqi security forces advancing toward Kirkuk. It is said that the Iraqi government has taken this action with the aim of controlling the K1 airbase and oil wells under the control of Kurdish Peshmerga forces. Whatever the goal, escalation of unrest in Iraq is not surprising.

Under these circumstances, however, those eager to travel to Arbaeen on social media are only criticizing the rising travel costs and emphasizing that the current government officials have placed heavier financial burdens on Arbaeen pilgrims to earn income.

Part of these criticisms also stems from the question of why Arbaeen travelers are not financially supported and no credits have been allocated from the government’s empty treasury for this journey.

It seems that in all this, the lack of personal security in Iraq matters little. Of course, nothing is expected from government officials in the Islamic Republic, but it is surprising that extremist Shiites do not value the lives of themselves and their loved ones. Especially since in photographs remaining from Arbaeen in previous years, we witnessed some parents bringing their children and participating in the Arbaeen procession with strollers.

Government Officials Are Winners in Playing with People’s Emotions

To investigate this matter, we sit down with several of our compatriots in conversation with FCC News:

Iman is a sociology student. He says: “There are still those among Iran’s eighty million population who are superficial religiously. Officials of the Islamic Republic also know well how to use the extremist and superficial beliefs of these people for their own policies. You see how the majority of people are drawn to the ballot boxes for presidential elections with what tricks, even though many of them do not want this regime to continue. In such a society, attracting the attention of Shiites devoted to the Imams for a journey like Arbaeen is not difficult. It is enough that a few hadiths and narrations are repeated in Friday prayers and they say that whoever visits the tomb of the third Imam will go straight to heaven. Meanwhile, Arbaeen travelers spend from their own pockets so the Iraqi side earns income and Iranian officials also benefit politically.”

A middle-aged professor who does not want his name revealed judges the Arbaeen ceremony from a different perspective. He says: “Last year, we witnessed eleven of our compatriots lose their lives in a bomb explosion in Samarra before the Arbaeen ceremony.

In the second incident, in the “Al-Shomali” area of the city of “Al-Hillah” south of Baghdad, more than 60 Iranians lost their lives. While the buses carrying them were stopped at a fuel station, a bomb exploded and burned five buses. The intensity of the fire was such that many bodies were unidentifiable, but from the remaining Iranian passports at the scene, it was clear that most of the victims were Iranian. Unfortunately, in none of these incidents did the officials of the Islamic Republic provide precise information. For example, it was never clarified what age the victims were. Perhaps there were children or elderly among them who became victims of the political goals and profiteering of the leaders of the Islamic Republic.”

Devaluing the Lives of Arbaeen Travelers

The comparison between the figure of 2.1 million Arbaeen travelers last year and 1.6 million the year before reflects the success of Islamic Republic officials in stirring popular emotions. On the other hand, their statements prove that the leaders of this government do not value the security and preservation of the lives of Iran’s human capital.

For example, the Director General of the Shrines of the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization in an interview two days ago merely contented himself with saying the following to recall these bitter events: “Last year, during some traffic accidents or terrorist incidents, 70 pilgrims encountered problems.”

Of course, we should not forget how these same officials sent off Arbaeen travelers last year with security promises.

To the extent that Ayatollah Mohammad Saidi, the custodian of the shrine of Fatima al-Masumah in Qom, said: “The existence of complete security for Hossein pilgrims at Arbaeen shows that the hand of God’s grace and the Ahl al-Bayt is our supporter and guide in this arena.” We saw the result of this complete security in the explosions. This is while this year the officials of the Islamic Republic have passed the ball to the Arbaeen travelers.

Hussein Zolfaghari, the current head of the Central Arbaeen Husseini Headquarters, is the security deputy of the Interior Minister. In this way, it can be said that Arbaeen travelers entrust their lives for traveling to a war-torn country to one of Iran’s security officials and set out on the journey. Unaware that this senior security official announced last week: “The security of pilgrims in Iran is our responsibility, but in Iraq, the government of that country is responsible for ensuring the security of pilgrims.”

Propaganda Slogans Are the Officials’ Weapon

Arbaeen travelers last year headed to Iraq with the slogan chosen by officials “Anni Ahaami Abada An Dini” (I will never give up defending my religion).

This year’s slogan is also “Ahabba Allah man Ahaba Hossain” (Whoever loves Hussein is beloved by God). Of course, according to Ayatollah Hamid Ahmadi, the cultural and educational director of the Leader’s Office and head of the cultural and educational committee of the Arbaeen Headquarters, this slogan was chosen from among 31 proposed slogans. He emphasized that to achieve this goal, consultations were held with cultural officials of Iran and Iraq, some cultural elites in other countries, specialized committees and prominent figures.

This is while these days many intellectuals and patriotic and peace-loving Iranians are worried about clashes occurring in Kurdistan, and this is a reality that, like the presence of ISIS forces the year before, remains hidden from the eyes of the leaders of the Islamic Republic to achieve their goals.

There is no doubt that cultural poverty and the institutionalization of false religious beliefs serve as teachers in such programs for the officials of this regime. May we, by seeking strength from God, take steps toward public information and awareness, and witness the fading of the results of the Islamic Republic’s efforts in these areas and the fading presence of human capital in these programs.