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  coming this weekend over  million pilgrims will rally in the holy city of karbala to mark the greatest pilgrimage of all  arbaeen right at the heart of iraq surrounded by the terror of the black flag army it is communities of men which will gather in prayers and in mourning to perform the last rites of imam hussain ibn ali the grandson of the prophet muhammad
  while arbaeen has eclipsed even the hajj in terms of attendance few  even within islam have ever heard of the pilgrimage let alone the tragedy it recalls never mind the principles it saw enacted
  arbaeen it needs to be said stands very much an offense to wahhabism  this dogma the house of saud has furiously promoted to assert its ascent to power arbaeen it needs to be emphasised actually speaks of this eternal struggle in between good and evil freedom and slavery piety and dogmatism
   sidelined by mainstream media for it speaks of islams attachment and commitment to such values as justice freedom and compassion towards all men and all fashion of faiths arbaeen has nevertheless towered a beacon of hope amid the furious rise of radicalism arbaeen i would personally argue has become a grand symbol of resistance against oppression  the coming together of communities beyond their differences and most importantly perhaps in spite of their differences so that together they could oppose tyranny and offer the oppressed a rampart behind which to find refuge
  for those of you who still have no idea what in the world i am talking about allow me to tell you the story of a man  a man whose courage resolute strength of character and yearning for truth have echoed across the centuries to inspire generations upon generations to think themselves free and to rise themselves independent from the yoke of tyranny
  more messenger   muslims develop technology to promote religious unity against radicalism why muslims hold the biggest human gathering under the threat of isis in iraq the th days new campaign  communitybuilding and social solidarity shia muslims gather in dc for antiterror rally imam hussain ibn alis martyrdom in the plain of karbala over a millennium ago stands testimony to our collective struggle against injustice and though it is islams banner the third imam carried his message was a universal call for freedom  an immovable promise that real tragedy lies not in our failure to defeat tyrants but in our reluctance to oppose them
  allow me to take you back a few centuries back when islams early history was still being written back when the name of the prophet muhammad was still murmured in the present tense through the lips of his progeny the house ahlulbayt
  only a few decades after islams last prophets passed islam stood divided as a nationstate its religious sovereignty challenged by men of greed and oppression yazid ibn muawiyah was one of them  arguably the most barbaric of them all since he envisioned slaughter to be the legacy of his throne
  as bigots brandished islam to rationalise their heresy and proclaim righteous exceptionalism before the abomination of their deeds imam hussain had no other choice but to march against yazid  even if alone for as long as there was breath in him it is justice he would command for all people
  and so the imam marched on  from the holy city of mecca to the thendeserted plain of karbala he walked knowing death would be his fate and still he pushed on 
  it is this determination to meet evil and not relent in the task which arbaeen speaks of most loudly it is allegiance loyalty and love pilgrims manifest into reality as they walk towards their imam united not faith but in their humanity
  arbaeen you most likely were never told is not exclusive to islam arbaeen is neither shia nor sunni arbaeen is for all who dare think themselves free under god and in him seek refuge
  and while arbaeen has long been associated to shia islam for its school of thought revolve around those very principles imam hussain consecrated with his death the pilgrimage stands not in opposition or rejection of any faith  quite the contrary since christians yezidis hussainis brahims alongside countless other religious denominations have year after year centuries after centuries come to karbala to remember
  arbaeen is remembrance of hussain ibn ali remembrance of the word of god made complete through hussain the man the prophet muhammad called his son and whose leadership he commanded all believers to forever follow
  if many failed in their allegiance for fear rendered them motionless before their imams calls hussains station in karbala has echoed ever since of a love so brilliant and unparalleled that all people all nations all faiths across time and space have found themselves compelled to walk the great walk of arbaeen  and through hussain ibn ali find their humanity
  arbaeen i have to say speaks to the best of our humanity it is home after all to the best of humanity  martyr among all martyrs there has never been a day like hussains day  and though his name wahhabism has worked to bury under the rubbles of history karbala has remembered its imam with fierce loyalty
  a city build around and for hussain ibn ali karbala is a declaration of allegiance to the house of the prophet  those extraordinary men and women whose hearts lips and prayers have spoken islam in wisdom and piety and without whom we would be orphans
  every year without fail karbala has fervently commemorated its imam  even in oppression especially when in oppression
  before the poison of radicalism karbala has offered generosity and compassion before brutal repression karbala has opened its doors and to all oppressed offered a shelter before the depravity of sectarianism karbalas pulpits have called upon men and women to hold to rope of allah never to disunite
  a city surrounded by the evil of daesh karbala has never shun brighter
  in the face of insane fanaticism imam hussains followers have never been braver
  and so coming this november   karbala will let out a roar which will shook tyrants thrones karbala will offer all of its prayers and all of its devotion  hussains name will be etched on believers hearts tears of allegiance will flow fists will rise to the sky a promise that when called upon all will answer
  islam today is best manifested in karbala since karbala shuns no one karbala today has put saudi arabia to shame since it has provided food and shelter to tens of millions of pilgrims  without expectation without any hope of a thank you
  a city has proven more generous and compassionate in its destitution than saudi arabia in its wealth and might where the socalled custodians of islam have cried the weight of the hajj on their coffers karbala has provided beyond the mathematically feasible
  in a few short days karbala will stop time once more  so that all could remember all martyrs are in fact alive and that the sons of hussain are still standing vigil