ABWA Official Website – With the presence of a group of Sunni and Shiite ulama, as well as some officials of the city of Samarra, Iraq, a ceremony on the birth anniversary of Imam Reza (a.s.) was held for the second consecutive year in the city. The ceremony was held with the participation of sheikhs of Iraqi tribes, the Representative of the Supreme Leader of the Revolution in Iraq, the governor of Samarra, the president of Samarra University, representatives of the Holy Shrines in Iraq, a group of military and security commanders, as well as representatives of the World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought, the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, Ashura International Foundation, along with different strata of Iraqi people. Further in the event, the message of Ayatollah Ramazani, Secretary General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, was read in Arabic by Mr. Hassan Khakarand, Advisor to the Secretary-General. /345/

Ayatollah Ramazani expressed his appreciation for the efforts of the people of Samarra, the tribes and sadats of this holy city, who hold ceremonies on the birth anniversary of the Immaculate AhlulBayt (a.s.) and the Ashura, help and feed the pilgrims of Imam Hussain (AS) in Arbaeen, and other Islamic occasions.

The Iraqi member of the General Assembly of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly stated, “Shiites have no presence in Samarra. The servants of the shrine of the two Askari Imams (a.s.) who brought their families to the city of Samarra live either in the area under the supervision of the shrine, or in the houses purchased by the shrine.”

During the ceremony of Imam Hussain (a.s.) Arbaeen, the office of the holy shrine of the two Askari Imams (a.s.) set up an exhibition on the pilgrims’ route on the main Najaf-Karbala Road (known as Tariq Ya Hussain). In this exhibition, pictures of the Samarra shrine, the pieces left from the shrine after the terrorist explosion in 2006, as well as some publications of this shrine are displayed.

The Holy Cellar or Cellar of the Occultation is the basement of the house of Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.), which is located in the northwest of the Holy Shrine of the two Askari Imams (a.s.) in Samarra. The sanctity of this place among Shiites is because it was the house of Imam Hadi (a.s.), Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.) and Imam Mahi (a.s.).

After the pilgrimage ceremony of Arbaeen of Imam Hussain (a.s.), the holy shrine of two Askari Imams (a.s.) in Samarra hosted the Arbaeen pilgrims.