The first edition of “Imam Baqir (AS)” international cultural festival has been underway since July 24 in the holy city of Karbala, Iraq.
According to Al-Kafeel website, the Imam Hassan (AS) Conference Hall affiliated to the Astan (custodianship) of Hazrat Abbas (AS) holy shrine is hosting the cultural program.
It has been organized by the Astan's Office for Intellectual and Cultural Affairs.
The international festival was opened concurrent with the anniversary of the demolition of the shrines in Baqi’, the first and oldest Islamic cemetery of Medina where four Shi'a Imams (AS) and many other noble figures among the Companions and the Followers of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) are buried there.
Mausoleums in Al-Baqi were demolished by King Ibn Saud in 1925.
The opening ceremony of the festival was attended by representatives from the custodianships of sacred sites in Iraq, as well as a number of religious, cultural and academic figures from different countries.
Addressing the ceremony, Seyyed Ahmad Al-Safi, custodian of the Astan of Hazrat Abbas (AS), described the demolition of the shrines of the infallible Imams, including the shrine of Imam Muhammad Baqir (AS) in Baqi’, as a great disaster.
Muhammad Tijani Samawi, eminent Shia scholar from Tunisia, was other speaker in the program who discussed the Seerah of Imam Baqir (AS) and highlited some of the important aspects of the Imam’s life.
He also defined some of the titles given to the 5th infallible Imam (AS) and said that since the Imam had the traits of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), he was titled “Al-Shabeeh” (the like) .
A book fair has also been mounted with the participation of foreign publishers in Iraq on the sidelines of the festival.
