Thousands of Shiites mark Arbaeen in US

Thousands of Shiites braved the snow and slush in Dearborn, Michigan, on Saturday to take part in a procession to mark the Arbaeen religious ceremony commemorating the death of revered Shiite Imam Hussein, press reports said.

Waving Iraqi and religious flags, the crowd chanted praises of Imam Hussein as they strolled through the streets of Dearborn towards a park, the Detroit Free Press said on Sunday.

The event marks the end of a 40-day mourning period for Shiite Muslims who revere Imam Hussein, the grandson of Islam's prophet who was killed in battle.

"It's amazing," Imam Husham Al-Husainy, head of the Karbalaa Islamic Education Center told the Free Press. "You see thousands of people walking in peace, sharing in the event. This walking, this march, has significant meanings, one of them solidarity with the Iraqi people who have suffered under Saddam."

It was the fifth annual Arabeen march in Dearborn, which has grown in size each year. Police said there were about 2,000 people in the procession, while organizers put the numbers at three to four thousand.

"The message of Imam Hussein is about justice, that all humans are born free and are equal," Mohammed Al-Najjar, 22, of Dearborn, told the paper as he walked with the crowd through the heart of Dearborn's Arab-American community. "This is not just for Muslims, Christians, and Jews, but for all of humankind."

Despite the cold weather, marchers came from across Michigan, the Midwest and Canada. The majority of participants were of Iraqi descent, but there were also Americans with roots in Lebanon, Pakistan, India and Iran, the Free Press reported.

The gathering echoed a procession of millions in Karbala, Iraq, where Imam Hussein's shrine is located. Similar processions were held Saturday in other cities around the world that have sizeable Shiite Muslim populations.