Archive for month: November, 2014

Monday, Nov. 3, 2014 was the day of Ashura according to the Hijri calendar. This is a day remembered by all Muslims, Sunni and Shiite, to bear witness to the history of the prophets and mourn the terrible tragedy of Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. It offers lessons for justice, forgiveness and unity for all.

Ashura literally means “ten” and corresponds to the 10th day of the lunar month of Muharram, which is also the beginning of the Hijri calendar. Both Jewish and Islamic sources refer to a number of historic events that have taken place on this day. It was on this day that the Prophet Moses saved the Children of Israel from the oppression of Pharaoh, upon which the Jews were asked to fast. After the great flood, Noah’s ark landed on the Mount Ararat on this day. According to scripture, Ashura also witnessed the repentance of Adam and David, the birth of Moses and Jesus, the crowning of Solomon and the rescue of Jonah from the belly of the whale.

All of these traditions reported in Jewish and Islamic scripture have made Ashura a special day of remembrance, contemplation and gratitude.

The day of Ashura is also a day of mourning as it corresponds to the day when Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, and his family members were brutally martyred by the Umayyad Caliph Yazid I in Karbala, in present day Iraq, in year 61 of the Hijri calendar, or 680 A.D. In this ferocious battle, Hussein stood up against oppression, tyranny and injustice and came to symbolize the pinnacle of justice, bravery and nobility. Muslims remember him as the “master of the martyrs” and invoke his courage, rectitude and devotion in the face of oppression and cruelty.

The story of Hussein in Karbala is not a Shiite or Sunni story. It is the story of brave souls defending their beliefs and principles in the face of a merciless enemy. It is underlined by devotion and dedication, a noble effort to preserve the heritage of the Prophet and uphold the principle of justice. It is a story that confirms once again that injustice and disunity bring death and destruction. This is a lesson that Muslims of all faiths, sects and inclinations should heed today. Hussein did not die to create more fissures and division among Muslims – he died to preserve the legacy of the Prophet Muhammad. He did not fight as a Sunni or Shiite or Hanafi or Jafari or anything else. He lived and died as a true believer. His courage was not for worldly bravery but an act of submission to God.

Today, Wahhabi/Salafi extremists kill Sunnis and Shiites in the name of religion. They call Shia Muslims as infidel. Instead, they should turn to the example of Hussein and unite against oppression and injustice rather than waste their faith and intelligence on sectarian fighting which created by Wahhabis.

Sunni and Shiite scholars, political and religious leaders, experts, tribal chiefs and ordinary people must do everything in their capacity to end this sectarian insanity and reduce tensions that have already claimed thousands of lives in many Muslim countries. The only way to respect and preserve the memory of Hussein is to protect the principles of justice, unity and sincerity for which Hussein gave his life. Ashura also presents an opportunity to improve Jewish-Muslim relations. Yom Kippur in Judaism and Ashura in Islam unite Jews and Muslims against pharaonic oppression and injustice. It celebrates, in humility and devotion, the forgiveness and mercy God has over the children of Adam. It invites us to go beyond religious, ethnic and sectarian differences and remember our humanity and the noble task it places on us all.)

A three-dimensional work of art in the form of a sculpture depicting the Ashura tragedy has been unveiled in the Iranian capital city of Tehran.

The bronze sculpture was unveiled at Tehran’s Imam Hussein Square during a ceremony held on the Day of Tasua, November 3.

Dubbed “The Evening of Ashura,” the sculpture has been created by the Iranian artist, Siavash Salimi, who spent one year on crafting the work.

The Evening of Ashura was inspired by a painting with the same title by the world-famous Iranian painter, Mahmoud Farshchian, in 1976.

The name of the artwork gives a good indication of the time period that it covers, namely, the evening of the day of Ashura, when Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) grandson, Imam Hussein (PBUH), and his companions were martyred.

Around 680 AD, Imam Hussein (PBUH) along with his 72 followers was massacred in the battle of Karbala in Iraq by the forces of the tyrant ruler of the time, Yazid, the second Umayyad caliph.

The painting master, Farshchian, has created several works of art on Ashura depicting the bitter stories of the day.

Farshchian is known as Iran’s master of miniatures, whose works have been displayed in numerous galleries and museums around the world such as the British Library, Freer Gallery of Art, Bibliotheque Nationale, Metropolitan Museum and Harvard University.

Farshchian was chosen as an outstanding 21st century intellectual by Cambridge and has received an honorary doctorate in fine arts.

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Shia Muslim Houthis have commemorated Ashura, the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (PBUH) in the Yemeni capital Sana’a.

Thousands of Shia Houthis gathered in an indoor stadium in Sana’a on Tuesday to honor Ashura, the 10th day of the lunar month of Muharram, which marks the martyrdom anniversary of the third Shia imam.

“We should always remember the principles which Imam Hussein sacrificed his life for. Imam Hussein and his companions stood firmly against all the oppressors and their plots,” said Ali Jadban, a Houthi loyalist, in an address to the massive gathering of mourners in Sana’a.

The leader of Yemen’s Shia Houthis also spoke to the congregation, saying Yemen is facing a situation similar to that faced by Imam Hussein.

Abdul-Malik al-Houthi called on the Yemeni people to reject foreign intervention in the country’s internal affairs and oppose Western hegemony and all other forms of oppression.

Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and 72 of his loyal companions, were martyred on Ashura in the battle of Karbala against the second Umayyad caliph, Yazid I, in 680 AD. Imam Hussein was killed after he refused to pledge allegiance to the tyrant ruler.

Houthi also brushed off the threat of sanctions by the United Nations Security Council.

“They hope to discourage and intimidate us. This is our responsibility to counter their plots. We tell them that we are not afraid of the United Nations or any tyrant entity because we follow the course of Imam Husssein that says we never bow to humiliation,” the Houthi leader added.

The impoverished Arab country is grappling with a severe political crisis between the central government and Ansarullah revolutionaries, also known as Houthis.

The Ansarullah activists, who played a major role in the ouster of the country’s longtime dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh, have been staging demonstrations in Sana’a for nearly two months, demanding the government’s ouster over corruption and marginalization of the country’s Shia community.

On November 2, Yemen’s main political parties, including the Ansarullah revolutionaries, signed a truce deal in a bid to put an end to the political crisis crippling the country. Under the deal, President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and Prime Minister-designate Khaled Bahah must form a government of technocrats before the Ansarullah revolutionaries withdraw from the capital. However, no specific date has been mentioned for the formation of the new government.

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