Beyond its pilgrimage sites, a culture of resistance, resilience, and determination, Iraq’s Karbala has a rich cultural landscape that includes shisha cafes, and heritage, showcasing a unique blend of faith, community, and daily life
Sheikh Abdul Mahdi Karbalai, the senior cleric of Karbala’s Imam Hussain shrine and survivor of multiple assassination attempts, emerged as a powerful voice during Iraq’s war against ISIS, rejecting sectarian framing of the conflict and emphasizing Shia-Sunni-Christian unity
Millions of devotees symbolizing defiance against oppression march through Iraq to the holy city of Karbala to mark the end of the 40-day mourning period of Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Hussain, making Arbaeen the world’s biggest annual pilgrimage
Karbala, where the shrine of the Prophet’s grandson Hussain has stood for centuries as a symbol of resistance against tyranny, became the nerve centre of the war on terror group ISIS
Abraham is believed to have first heard God’s voice in Ur, which is not just an example of Iraq’s storied past but also of how Abrahamic religions are joined at the hip
Persian Gulf nations have increasingly been associated with cosmopolitanism, openness, diversity, acceptance, strong economies, and diversification as they continue to evolve thanks to a unique blend of tradition and modernity, making them an attractive destination for tourists, businesses, and investors
To showcase the broad-based resistance against ISIS, we were driven to Baghdad’s riverside palm tree-shaded Jadriya locality for a show of Shia-Sunni unity by commanders fighting the terror group
Iran built a corridor of influence extending up to the Mediterranean when the US left Iraq in 2011 and left the field open for its archfoe and helped Tehran keep Bashar al-Assad in power in Syria and support Hezbollah in Lebanon
Ahl al-Bayt (people of the Prophet Muhammad’s household) are known as nur-e-Muhammadi, or the bearers of his light, as well as his trustees ‘privy to his esoteric and religious knowledge’
Successes against ISIS would have been impossible without national unity when the bloody civil war deepened Shia-Sunni fissures
