The color festival craze has caught on throughout the globe, even recently catering to a large crowd of excited young people in Baghdad.
But in the port city of Basra located in southern Iraq, the craze is going to take a bit more time to catch on. Authorities canceled a scheduled color festival, blocking the park where it was to be held with concrete barriers.
A member of the Basra provincial council, Murtada al-Shahmani, told AFP that the decision came out of respect for families mourning their children who have died fighting against ISIS. However, the previous color festival held in Baghdad was strongly criticized by local conservatives.
Criticism arose mainly because the event allowed men and women to mix freely together. Shahmani echoed these concerns in his condemnation of the event saying, "[people] without conscience or hearts or morals come to hold mixed-sex festivals that bring them out to be joyful, and the families of the martyrs see them and weep for their children."
The event's organizer, Nabil Muslim, insisted that the activity was just meant to create a sense of normalcy amid the ongoing conflict.
"We are trying to make our young people forget the violence," he said.
"What was done by the authorities is a restriction on the personal liberties of the young people. They want to return us to the time of dictatorship."
He also expressed fear for his own safety following the decision, complaining of restrictions implemented by religious authorities.
"Now, I am not able to leave my house out of fear for myself."
Color festivals – or color runs – copy the yearly Indian Holi festival tradition. Large groups of people, usually dressed in white, enter an area or the streets and happily throw brightly colored paint at each other.
Usually, people leave feeling exhilarated and excited but it doesn't look like Basra will get the chance to find out.