Religious Ceremony or Carnival?

You know, A few days ago were the anniversary of killing the Shiite third prophet Imam Hussein. Many of Iranians contribute at his ceremony. But during the last decade, increasingly, it becomes like a carnival. Just look at the picture of boys and girls who have been there on this blog... lessons for Islamic rulers…

To sopprt the first paragraph, here is a short clip about "Valentine Day in Iran", on PBS/frontlineworld", by Shaghayegh Azimi

I read an article in Christian Science Monitor Today, which I think is cautious. However, I have a few comments about the debate, but generally that’s worth to read: “'New populists' vs. the West”