Ethnography of Arbaeen March as a model of human dignity

The Arbaeen March, is one of the Shiite rituals that is held in the days leading up to 20 Safar (Arbaeen). This March from different parts of Iraq to Karbala is done with the aim of visiting Arbaeen. Most pilgrims go to Karbala via Najaf. During Saddam Hossein's rule, restrictions were imposed on the event, but with the fall of the Ba'ath party in 2003, the event was revived, and in addition to Iraqi Shiites, other Shiites, especially those in the neighborhood, joined the Arbaeen march. In recent years, millions of people have taken part in the march. This event is considered to be the largest annual religious gathering in the world. Statistics on the number of participants in the march are estimated at between 12 million and 20 million.

The research seeks to analyze and describe the Arbaeen culture and decision-making strategies to promote the Arbaeen culture. The main view of researchers from the perspective of identifying Arbaeen as a model of human.

This article describes and analyzes the gracious behaviors of Imam Hossein's servants and pilgrims during the Arbaeen of 2013 to 2019 with interpretive and research methodology based on ethnographic policies and observations of ethnographers for cultural and cultural development base on Arbaeen. The ethnography of this research in the land border routes of neighboring countries of Iraq in the first step, and the study of the Najaf-Karbala route in the second step.

This study indicates the existence of a very strong behavioral pattern base on monotheism and accepting the centrality of Imam Hossein (a. s). It also confirmed and emphasized the popularity of Arbaeen and highlighted the role of the government and the Shiite Marja in promoting the Arbaeen movement.

This study shows that Arbaeen creates a very high level of convergence between different cultures and the literature of Imam Hossein (a. s) between cultures and strengthens and it expands the great global culture of Shiism.