Lecture: Report of the Iraqi Arba'in pilgrimage - Neil van der Linden
The Arba'in in Kerbala, Iraq, is far less well known than the Hajj in Saudi Arabia, but attracts twenty million pilgrims annually.
Musica Sacra
It is the last day of the commemoration of the death of Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, in the Battle of Kerbala in 680. Neil van der Linden was there last July. It made, in a temperature of 48 degrees with millions of emotional people, a deep impression on him. In this lecture, he talks about it, using video footage.
Neil van der Linden specializes in Arab and other North African/Southwest Asian art and culture. After the Gulf War, he visited Iraq for Vrij Nederland. He is currently researching the musical heritage of sub-Saharan East Africa.