The British journalist and Guardian columnist Jonathan Steele has described the massive pilgrimage of Arbaeen as a miracle.
"People from all walks of life challenge the security threats by ISIS and march towards Karbala, and it truly is a miracle how a small city could host this great number of people," pointing out that such pilgrimage should gain more attention and journalists should write many stories and reports about the pilgrims and their devotion to Imam Hussein.