Highlighting the lofty aims of the pilgrimage, Hojatoleslam Kashmiri warned against “seditions and theoretical and media attacks” aimed at distorting or undermining the event, urging believers to safeguard “this living and holy movement.”
Expressing gratitude to the Iraqi people for their hospitality toward pilgrims, he called Arbaeen “a renewal of the divine covenant—one that transcends time and community, and serves as a universal cry for all freedom-seekers.”
“Imam Hussein (AS) is still being oppressed and the oppression continues,” Kashmiri said. “O free people of the world! Stand up to support the truth. Do not be content with just walking—be the guardian of this sacred covenant with your heart, mind, pen, and conduct. Every sincere pilgrim is like a solid brick in the strong wall of God’s religion, and God will always defend His religion, even if the unbelievers dislike it.”
Kashmiri stressed that Arbaeen is “a platform for awakening and a living embodiment of the Husseini revolution—a testament to loyalty to the truth and the collective rejection of falsehood.” He noted that throughout history, the pilgrimage has been the target of “the arrows of enemies and tyrants” and remains a focus of cultural, ideological, and media campaigns against the truth.
Addressing present-day challenges, he cited “distortions, doubts, prohibitions, and false propaganda” as ongoing obstacles to this “divine path,” calling on the faithful to protect it with vigilance and the use of all appropriate means.
