Dimensions of ritual communication in the contemporary world:The communication process in the Arbaeen march

Arbaeen march rituals are one of the largest religious gatherings in the world, which are attended by millions of people of different nationalities and from different social groups every year. This march is important for researchers in the field of religion and communication in terms of communication, media and rituals. The purpose of this research is to identify the communication aspects of the Arbaeen march, and it has been tried to extract the components of the research field by using the qualitative method, grounded theory and conducting in-depth interviews with experts, during various coding processes with MAXQDA software. The research findings showed; Communication in the march has "internal and external dimensions". "Traditional communication" which is more interpersonal and based on opinions is the dominant form of communication in this march. The external dimension of communication has many aspects of "mass communication", which itself is divided into two categories: "formal communication" and "informal communication". In official communication, such as news reports on radio, television and press about different dimensions of the march, it is usually tried to highlight and publicize the religious dimension and popular solidarity of the march. The atmosphere of the Arbaeen march is full of conversations. The existing "verbal communication" is beyond a simple communication and the communication in the Arbaeen march has multiple layers and periods. In this regard, the communication model of the Arbaeen march is known as the communicative-interactive model.