Hosting the hosts

We’ve known Ayatollah Khamenei by various titles throughout his life: Religious scholar, Quranic exegete, revolutionary fighter, war veteran, speaker, Friday Prayer Leader, Member of Parliament, President, Leader of the Islamic Revolution, and more.

However, one of the most significant titles that can be given to this forward-thinking figure is "social theorist." Through his meticulous study of Islamic history and acute observation of modern society, he consistently sought to design models for the advancement of Islamic society that align with both Islamic principles and contemporary demands.

One of these models was the Arbaeen pilgrimage. More than 46 years before this photo was taken, that is, on March 15, 1974, a young Khamenei in Mashhad had named the Arbaeen ceremony the "Global Congress of Shias" – a place where Shias from all corners of the Islamic world gather, become acquainted with one another's issues and problems, offer mutual aid, and most importantly, resolve to assist the Imam and Islam.

Arbaeen is a walking event held annually 40 days after the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (pbuh), the third Imam of the Shias and grandson of the Prophet of Islam (pbuh), as pilgrims make their way on foot to Karbala.

For over a thousand years, devotees of the Prophet's household have walked the Arbaeen route on foot. Along the way, Iraqi hosts open their homes, mosques, and hussainiyahs, turning them into mawkibs to serve the pilgrims. A mawkib is a place where pilgrims can stop, rest, pray, and mourn. It’s a place where sharing the exhaustion of the long walk and the grief of Imam Hussain’s martyrdom brings two total strangers together, as they sit side by side like brothers. And every year, the mawkib hosts use their own personal savings to facilitate this brotherhood entirely free of charge.

This photo captures the meeting between Ayatollah Khamenei and the Arbaeen mawkib hosts – the very people who, after the fall of Saddam Hussein, had set the stage for this global gathering in a truly magnificent fashion. In 2019, following the defeat of ISIS, 15 million Shias and non-Shias from all over the world attended the Arbaeen World Congress. Not a single person was left thirsty, hungry, or without shelter. Along the route, they saw what a true Islamic society actually looks like – the very society that a young Ayatollah Khamenei had envisioned 46 years earlier was now being brought to life by the efforts of these mawkib hosts.