The challenges of Iranian pilgrims' decision for Arbaeen foot-pilgrimage

The Arbaeen foot-pilgrimage bears a prominent place in Iranians' religious beliefs. Facing numerous challenges, Arbaeen pilgrims set out this journey should the challenges are met. This study, therefore, deals with the challenges of Iranian pilgrims during the Arbaeen walk and the way they deal with the problem. The required data were collected through "ethnography", using "grounded theory" to analyze the data. To this end, 39 pilgrims who participated in Arbaeen 2018 walk were interviewed along the way to Karbala. The challenges regarding decision-making were summarized in the main category labeled as "the challenges regarding obstacles and lack of requirements". The challenges listed under the "the lack of requirements" includes: "travel expenses," "ability to walk," "finding the right (appropriate) fellow traveler", "providing a suitable time for travel", "the possibility of achieving the goal", "travel facilities like transportation, accommodation, food, health, familiarity with the way and destination". The major sub-categories of "obstacles challenges" include: "prohibition made by such actors as the government, employer, training centers, spouse, and parents", "conflicting interests derived from job commitment, child- care commitment, and social pressure generated by fellow citizens and commitment to them", and "feeling insecure".