Karbala, Ya Karbala

By a miracle of God, I was able to take these pictures in Karbala on Arba'een myself!!!!!! According to the guy with a gun who drove us through Baghdad, there was 6 million people who walked to Karbala (and some Iranians too who ostensibly drove or flew). I have more pictures, but they are hard to upload from Syria, so these should at least let you know what it was like. It was really amazing. It was incredible. Words cannot describe it. You see the most beautiful displays of love for Imam Husain (as) from ordinary people. The only way I can express what it is like to be there is to say that the fact that 6 million people will walk for days just go to Karbala indicates that there is something very special and very unique there. So if you have not gone yet, you need to come too!!! I also had the privilege of being in Karbala on Arba'een 8 years ago, but it was a completely different experience. Back then, it was crowded too, but you couldn't even move without being harassed by the soldiers. It was so touching to see so much religious freedom. As I watched all the people, I had the uncanny feeling that the power of God and Ahl Al-Bayt was quite alive in freeing this land from the enemies of Ahl Al-Bayt.

The only thing I missed in Karbala were OTHER types of people -- I was told that this year they were not allowing foreigners into Iraq due to security concerns. (But apparently there were one or two exceptions...)

Although I really enjoyed being in Karbala, and I would have loved to stay if I had something to offer the country, I was sad to see that there is still so much poverty in Iraq, and that the country was largely a mess. Going from Syria to Iraq was like traveling back in time 100 or 150 years. Although Karbala seemed fairly safe, when I was at someone's house in Najaf someone missed with their missiles and killed some people on the street not very far away from us. I felt somewhat guilty that I had the option to leave as I pleased since most people do not. However, I did feel optimistic about a couple things. One was that I didn't see the throngs of orphans that you used to see on the streets of Najaf and Karbala. Someone told me that people built shelters for them, and I had the honor to visit a large orphan school in Najaf. Also, I was touched by the way many people really are dedicated to the reconstruction and the future. I had always assumed that the Iraqi reconstruction consisted only of power plants, sanitary services, roads, and so on, but after meeting some people who returned to Iraq from Iran to do religious tabligh I also understand the importance of spreading Shi'a teachings there after all of the years of repression.

Anyway may God help them with what they are doing. I am extremely entirely 100% grateful to God that He gave me the privilege to go to Karbala AGAIN in my life, and I hope everyone has this opportunity!!!!!