The lines which follow I would like to dedicate to the millions of men and women who, coming November 20-21, 2016 will stop time itself, and from the great city of Karbala in Iraq walk Freedom. For Arbaeen they have all come.
Arbaeen is the 40-day mourning period following Ashura, the religious ritual for the commemoration of the Prophet Mohammad’s grandson’s death in 680 AD – one last goodbye from a community in mourning, one last testament of faith to the one figure in History who has commanded both respect and humility.
Antoine Bara, the prominent Lebanese writer wrote in his book: Hussain in Christian ideology, “No battle in the modern and past history of mankind has earned more sympathy and admiration as well as provided more lessons than the martyrdom of Hussain in the battle of Karbala.”
This year, 30 million pilgrims have ventured onto Daesh territory to enact an allegiance which stands beyond all matters of religious denominations, ethnicities, and political affiliations. For the love of one man, one Imam: Hussain ibn Ali, Custodian to Islam’s tradition. Unlike the Hajj which remains an obligation onto Muslims the pilgrimage of Arbaeen sits well beyond a simple exercise in piety, or religious duty – Arbaeen speaks of allegiance and remembrance.
Arbaeen I personally feel acts a mirror to our humanity … an affirmation that our true nature lies in our ability to push against injustice, on behalf of those whose voices were stolen away.
The Great Walk as many have called it, has towered mighty in the face of oppression – whatever its forms, whichever agenda it has pursued and whomever it has intended on persecuting. Never before has the world witnessed a greater rally against the terror of Wahhabism and the abominations it has brought in its wake.
The old, the young, the disabled … men, women, from all four corners of the Globe they have come with one name on their lips, across faiths, beyond faiths they have come together to speak against the horror of radicalism and consecrate Freedom as an inalienable human right.
You would think that in times such as ours, when bigotry, prejudices and rampant fascism threaten still to engulf us, media would use Arbaeen as a reminder of what could be when communities stand united – hope that harmonious unity is in fact feasible.
source : en.shafaqna.com
