Sayed Ali Abbas Razawi*
Maulana Shahid Raza O.B.E., Chairman of MINAB**
Revd Nadim Nassar, Director of Awareness Foundation***
Tuesday, 17th January 2012
Chairman: This topic has a great relevance to what is happening locally and it resonates with some of the issues that have been raised in the past 12 months whether in Tahrir Square or in Bahrain or in New York or in London. So the topic under discussion tonight is the message of Karbala, transcending faiths.
Josh Malihabadi a radical poet from the Indian subcontinent said let humanity awaken and each nation, each individual, each living being will cry out and say Hussain is ours. He cuts across the boundaries of religions and faith. Iqbal the famous Pakistani-Indian poet said that there are only two things which Islam has to offer : the martyrdom of Imam Ali and the the homage of Imam Hussain at Karbala. He puts these two issues at the core of Islamic values and at the values of humanity.
The message of Imam Hussain cuts across all boundaries, all faiths and all religions. In India you have a group of people who call themselves Al Bahaman Hussain. They are Hindus who are Hindus by definition but also call themselves Hussainis. So it is quite interesting how that comes about. If you go to any of the ashura processions in India you see non-believers taking part in these processions in big numbers. Hussain touches everyone’s heart. His message is really the message of today, of 2012 where humanity is being trampled on by one percent and Imam Hussain was definitely with the 99 percent. He stood up against that one percent corrupt ruling elite of that time and 1400 years later we realise that it is the same one percent which is exploiting and abusing humanity.
Maulana Shahid Raza: Mr Chairman, distinguished scholars, my dear brothers and sisters a very good evening to you all. May the peace and blessings of almighty Allah be on us all.
I must be grateful to sister Fatima from here and through her I am grateful to Abrar Foundation for giving me this opportunity to share with you all some of my thoughts on the topic. Last year I was invited for another event there but due to some misunderstanding I could not arrive here on that day. Rev Nabeel is smiling. His smile is the biggest indication of that forgiveness.
The tragedy of Karbala is one of the greatest tragedies of human history. It is not only a tragedy of Muslim history. It must be welcomed and encouraged that after hundreds of years of that tragedy we are here to learn from the story of Karbala and perhaps that is in my opinion the biggest message coming out of Kerbala. What happened in Karbala contains many teachings and messages to be learned by us all until the end of the world.
Imam Hussain did not lay down his life just for the sake of lamenting the tragedy. It is human nature to be sad to feel sorrowful after hearing or listening to the tragedies but the great hero of Islam, Imam Hussain in reality sacrificed his own life, the lives of his family members and friends for some great lessons to be learned from this tragedy.
The first important lesson I can draw and share with you is the unity of vision. A group of people if they are united in their vision, ideology and concepts, however small this group may be it becomes one of the greatest powers on earth. This is what has happened in Karbala. Imam Hussain, his family members, his friends – perhaps as many as 82 people were in his camp. They were all one united family in their vision and their ideology. Whatever the ideology was it is entirely a different chapter. We may not be discussing that ideology in this programme today in detail but the lesson we may draw is that in today’s world, whether we have political, theological, religious or social problems we could be a real force. We could be a sizeable group of genuine, real individuals if we have the unity of vision and ideology.
So this is something we can learn from the shahada of Imam Hussain and from the martyrdom of Karbala. They were all one single, Islamic body facing the injustice and tyranny of Yezid and his forces. They all had moral and spiritual courage, the young, the old, the men and the women. This is something we should try to look into and be a united force with the help of our ideology and vision so that we can confront the enemies in today’s world. We can confront our opponents with full force in today’s society.
The second important thing which comes out in my mind from the story of Karbala is the way Imam Hussain was trying to resolve this dispute or conflict. There had been and there will be and there could be only two ways of resolving the dispute: by way of killing, by way of terrorising, by way of bloodshed, by way of murder and the other alternative was to enter into a dialogue by way of negotiations, by way of interacting.
In Karbala we see on one side that the Yezidis are terrorising Ahl Al Bayt, threatening to kill and destroy the lives of those who were there for the sake of Islam and for the sake of the dignity of the Prophet of Islam and Allah. On the other side was Imam Hussain and his fellow members of Ahl and Bayt and friends. They were there armed with nothing but with spiritual and moral beliefs and values.
Imam Hussain was offering, until the last day, negotiations and dialogue. Let us resolve this conflict by way of dialogue. They said ‘no’. They wanted Hussain to surrender to Yazid or get ready to be killed. So given no other option except killing is the Yezidi way, the way of terrorists and extremists and trying to avoid killing and bloodshed and trying to resolve disputes and conflicts by way of peaceful dialogue is the message of Imam Hussain, the message of Karbala.
The third very important lesson I may draw will be to remain active and to play an active role in the society we live in. Martyrdom is not a passive concept. Shahada or giving one’s life in the way of Allah is not like someone standing in a place and waiting for a killer. That is not the concept of shahada. The concept of shahada is that Imam Hussain could have opted for silence against Yazid. Nobody was forcing him to speak up. Nobody was forcing him to go to Karbala. It was his own decision. It was his own choice because he wanted to leave with us a message of being active in our lives. Just watching the destruction of societies, the disintegration of the political network, the disintegration of our social fabric and saying I am not affected so I will not bother is one option. It is not hurting me or my family so why should I involve myself in a campaign? Why should I be part of the struggle. I do not need to go. I am safe, I am secure.
Iman Hussain could have opted for that passive security and safety of his own life and the lives of his children and his relatives and other members of Ahl Al Bayt. Instead he came out with full force and travelled with all possible courage towards shahada, towards martyrdom.
Historically he appeared to be travelling to Kufa but in fact he is not travelling towards Kufa. He was travelling towards his destination of martyrdom and shahada. He left a lesson that we must be caring and sharing the pain and tragedy of our neighbours, of our societies, and other human fellow beings. We cannot isolate ourselves and remain detached from what is happening in the world or in societies all around us.
It is a Husseini obligation, it is a moral obligation to be out actively struggling and participating for the sake of moral values, for the sake of some human goals and objectives.
And finally as we can see in today’s world people in different parts of the world are struggling as minorities. Being a minority in the light of the tragedy of Karbala is not something which should be seen as a short coming, as a deficiency.
Yes of course there was no equation between the 72 martyrs of Karbala and thousands of Yezidis. But at the same time perhaps Imam Hussain believed that quality is more important than quantity. There were only a few but he was proud of his sister Sayida Zeinab. Yezidis you may have thousands of women but you do have a woman like Zeinab. You may have thousands of children but Ali Yazhar is with me. A virtuous family, a group of people full of a spiritual, intellectual, moral, social, ethical values and qualities.
So perhaps we need to learn here that wherever we live as minorities there is nothing against us. But as minorities we can learn that to be a moral community is more important than being a community without any moral or spiritual and ethical values. That helps and brings confidence, that gives us courage, that brings in us strength and confidence.
These are some of the aspects of the tragedy of Karbala which are meaningful and valuable for all of us.
Iman Hussain gave his life for the sake of people. Quran begins in the name of God but Quran ends with the word anas. So the last word of Quran is anas, the people. Imam Hussain laid down his life for the sake of people, that people should have the choice of electing their leaders, their rulers, their emirs. For this fundamental message he laid down his life.
“Look O people, I am giving my life. I am going to give the last drop of my blood in the desert of Kerbala. I would like to leave the message that the people irrespective of their colour, creed, their affiliation with a particular faith must be given the right of choosing their leaders.
So as long as this struggle goes on, as long as this campaign goes on anywhere in the world Imam Hussain remains alive in our hearts, in our institutions, in our prayers and he is going to live long. He is living and alive. As Quran says those who give their lives for the sake of God, for the sake of godly values they live for good, they live forever. Thank you very much indeed.
The Revd Nadim Nassar: There is no better time than now to stop and reflect on what happened at the Battle of Karbala and learn some serious lessons about faith, politics and life through its compelling story. As I have been studying Karbala and the many interpretations that have been written throughout the centuries, I felt truly humbled to be asked to contribute to a field which is richly overflowing with volumes of writings and reflections.
I must admit that I felt, as I was preparing for this talk, like a Shia Christian who was visiting the event of Karbala as well as many terrible battles that took place between Christians. The Thirty Years War between Roman Catholics and Protestants (such as the Battles of Breitenfeld, Nordlingen, Rocroi, Freiburg, Lutzen and the Battle of White Mountain) are prime examples. Studying history is absolutely necessary if we are to understand our present so that we can in turn build our future. Past, present and future are linked with unbreakable bonds; our past affects our present, and that in turn affects our future. Understanding this relationship can liberate us, setting us free from perpetuating the mistakes of the past and reliving them today. It also helps us to understand the present, allowing us to make sense of what is happening now, and this enables us to aim for a brighter, better future.
We should look at the Battle of Karbala through this lens of understanding the past, present and future; today, we still hear the echoes of this momentous event and blood is still spilled in the name of something that happened 1321 years ago. For the last ten months I have been reflecting on the terrible events and bloodshed which has engulfed my beloved country, Syria. What has been happening in the Middle East and North Africa for the last year has a direct connection with the Battle of Karbala and what it symbolises for Muslims. Consequently, it is affecting international and personal relationships across the world.
Looking at the involvement of all the political and economic powers around the world in the affairs of the Middle East and the Arab world today, we must re-evaluate the relationship between religion, politics and culture. In this age of globalisation, advanced telecommunication and transportation, religion came back centre stage and forced us all to rethink the role of religion as we have entered into the second decade of the 21st century. 2011 carried unimaginable changes that shocked everybody and made many recalculate their strategies in the Middle East and the Arab world.
Since I am a priest and not a politician or a strategic analyst, I shall be speaking as a priest.
The corruption of the best is the worst, and the corruption of religion is devastating. We have learned that, when politics and religion are intertwined, we get the worst of both. Religion loses its purpose of bringing humanity closer to the creator and serving human beings by building better relationships between them; and politics loses its purpose, which is to bring structure and organisation to all members of society, no matter what their beliefs may be. Religion is exploited by those who seek political power and religion then becomes the servant of political ideologies. Despite the few Muslim and Christian examples of success, we can still boldly say that the marriage between politics and religion has not been a positive one, nor has it allowed societies to prosper. This has proved especially true in modern times. Karbala gives us a profound example of the abuse of both politics and religion. The Battle of Karbala was caused by pure political ambition and an extremely narrow interpretation of religion. The dangerous element of this marriage between religion and politics is that both politicians and clergy then seek to control their people. When the clergy become politicians, they exploit religion in order to maintain their political power. The consequences of this marriage often are oppression, persecution and violence.
In Christianity, throughout the history of the Church, we see attempts to combine religion and politics, and the results have always been disastrous. England saw a century and a half of bloodshed and destruction from Henry VIII’s Break with Rome in 1536, through successive monarchs and the English Civil Wars (1642-1651) to the so-called Glorious Revolution in 1688 as Protestants and Roman Catholics struggled to gain and to keep power.
Political Christianity and political Islam have failed to provide society with a better life. If we look at the Arab world and see what is happening politically, we see the phenomenon of radical Islam winning the votes of the people. Why is that? I do not believe for a minute that people suddenly became more religious! There is a profound difference between true religion and those who manifest outward expressions of faith, like wearing the Cross, wearing the Hijab, growing beards, collecting religious icons or working on a prayer bump, without actually living that faith. I believe people in the Arab world are choosing to vote for a more conservative and sometimes radical Islam as a reaction against two things: first of all, people have been reacting against some elements of globalisation which they have labelled as Western cultural imperialism; secondly, people are reacting against the oppression of dictatorships that crushed the people and made their lives a misery for decades. We should not forget that most people in the Arab world believe that the West was the greatest supporter of those dictators and it was the force behind their rise to power in the first place. After decades of colonialism and occupation, what is happening in the Arab world should not surprise us. We have a saying in Arabic, “That cloud brought this rain”. People are fighting back to affirm their religious identity against the dictators who tried to erase it. This affirmation is causing a lot of anxiety for the minorities in the Arab world. This is because these minorities believe that, if radical Islam takes power, they will be persecuted and forced to leave their homes as we have seen happen in Iraq.
Karbala is the ultimate symbol in Islam for the suffering of the innocent, portraying Imam Husain as being killed just for being different – for holding different views. People in the Middle East are still killing each other just because they have different views; we are not good at living with difference! This is in the heart of the Middle East’s modern history. People suffered and lost their lives under foreign occupation; then the pain became even greater because the suffering was now inflicted by their own countrymen; the people could understand oppression at the hands of foreign invaders, but to suffer this oppression at the hands of their own people was just too much. In time the dictators adopted the strategy of ‘divide and rule’ to preserve their power; as a result, sectarianism arose, tolerance dropped and community harmony was crippled. The suffering begun at the Battle of Karbala has been continued until this very day, inflicted by people who believe in the same God and who may have been neighbours.
As a Christian, I look to the ultimate Christian symbol of suffering, which is Jesus Christ on the Cross. Jesus held revolutionary views which shook the ground under the feet of the leaders of His time. Nobody would believe that the mighty Council of the Sanhedrin would take the trouble to conspire with the Roman authorities to kill a man just for being nice and kind. They killed Him because He threatened them by challenging their authority and questioning the way they exercised their power over the people. Jesus’ aim was to liberate people from their fear and their blind obedience to their leaders, and to give them direct access to God. He said, ‘Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’ (John 8:32) This death of Christ, for Christians, is not only meaningful because he was innocent but because he took the place of all humanity on the cross and because of that he rose again from the dead so that the last word of God to humanity is “Yes” rather the rejection “No” of the cross.
When religious leaders wield power, they so easily become monsters! Love of money and power can blind even the most altruistic leader and lead them to act directly against their own religious beliefs. Jesus clashed with the religious leaders of His time because He saw how they oppressed their people.
Taking Jesus Christ’s ultimate example of liberation and sacrifice, I also feel liberated to look at other stories in history which reflect this example. One of the most intriguing stories that could be looked at in light of the Crucifixion is Karbala. We see in Karbala a story of liberation; Imam Husain took a stand against the authorities because he believed that they were wrong – just as Jesus believed the religious leaders were wrong. When you have the courage and the spirit to stand up for your beliefs and to say ‘No’ to oppression and injustice, then you are freed from fear and the baggage of daily life. This great act inspires all of humanity. Great prices are paid for great causes!
Great leaders in history who suffered or were killed because of their beliefs – such as Jesus Christ, Imam Husain, Umar ibn al-Khattāb, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King – are the ones who made a tremendous difference in the world, who influenced the course of history. Today, we still fail to give dignity to our differences, and we find fanatics in every religion spreading terror and fear; we need to join hands around the world to make a difference in a world that should celebrate the magnificent contribution that cultural, religious and social diversity can make. We should now be inspired by those great leaders to say to those who are still trying to divide and rule or to carry out acts of terrorism in the name of religion, ‘enough is enough’.
Sayed Ali Abbas Razawi: It is a great honour to be here today. You have seen from the diversity of the various speeches that have gone before me of who Imam Hussain actually was. I want to take a different angle altogether. I want to go via a more transcendent route.
So if you look at what Imam Hussain really stands for especially in the 21st century it is important to look at him as an ideology. And more than anything else he is an ideology within itself. It is a school.
Fourteen hundred years later we are commemorating his life. And it is not just a one off. In the last two months I have given 48 lectures. Go to Karbala where he was slaughtered. According to Iraqi figures there were 17 million people gathered at this moment commemorating his martyrdom.
Fifty days ago there were approximately five million people gathered. Three months ago there were approximately 11 million people gathered. So this is a ground breaking occasion. This is not something that happens one of. If you look throughout history his commemoration, his celebration has been stopped and you find that people come in numbers.
Go back to the time of Yezid and you will see. Here is a man who takes this individual into a desert. The super power of the time is trying to destroy 72 people. Forty days later what you find is the very first commemoration took place in Yezid’s palace and Yezid was helpless. He couldn’t do anything. It was the ladies who did that.
If you look at Islam as a kind of male dominated religion the reality is that Islam haws always been saved on every occasion by its women. Look at the Prophet of God and you will see Khadija, look at Imam Ali and you will see Fatima, look at Hussain and you will see Zeinab. It is amazing the way in which this religion has been saved by its women.
Fourteen hundred years ago a woman stands in the court of Yezid and she addresses him and she basically annihilates all of his arguments. It is amazing if you go back and read the statements. You find this statement has three levels: theological, mystical and political.
Hussain himself represents an ideology which transcends theologically, socially and mystically. If you go deeper there are many meanings which you can take out of it. Many people have done PhD’s on this.
Today Jews in Tel Aviv are commemorating Imam Hussain. They are Iraqi Jews. They were there in Iraq. They saw what happened and it touched them. If it was just the fact that he was a freedom fighter, there have been many freedom fighters in the past. There have been many good people, many moral people but what Imam Hussain does is he hits the emotions and that is the reality of him.
Every year you find Muslims crying. Thirteen million people crying is not a small thing. This year in Iraq, in Karbala a Christian priest was crying. Crying probably more than we could cry. He said: “I live in the vicinity. I know what he stands for and the humanity that he promoted.” So it is not just the fact that it is a humanistic cause. It hits the emotions. That is what changes it.
Saddam tried to stop it. Go back 30 years, ten thousand people, twenty thousand people. When Saddam was toppled five million people. The next year seven million, the next year 13 million and it is increasing.
One thousand years ago in the time of the Abbasids, they were Muslims but they tried to stop this commemoration process. If two people were going, one person would have to die. Hands were being cut off, legs were being cut off but you still found millions of people going. There is a reality to this. It goes very deep. Understand this institutions and you will understand the resistance today within the Muslim world.
In the 20th century the majority of resistance in the Islamic world – whether they are correct of not – has been done on the back of Imam Hussain. Seven or eight months ago the Arab spring took place. In Egypt an extremist faction wanted to demolish Rasoul Hussain and Sayeda Zeinab. And the movement said these are two institutions that we can’t touch. That is the reality. If we were to touch them our government would also be toppled.
So what does he stand for? It is something much greater that we need to analyse. What brings all these people together. Do you know the date on which your grandparents passed away? What about your great grandparents? When you look at a Muslim and you mention the name of Hussain every year he cries like a baby. I have seen it with my own eyes in different parts of the world. They cry more than their fathers.
This was predicted 1400 years ago. The sixth iman, who was a descendant of Imam Hussain, said some very beautiful things. He said that the death of Hussain would ignite a fire in the hearts of the believers which would never die. He predicted that. Today it is like a fire. Ask any Muslim what you feel in your heart. That is the miracle of Hussain. The fact he is alive today. The fact that he is transcendent.
There are the Hussaini Brahamins. Brahmans are the highest caste. If you go to Lucknow, Delhi or Mumbai you will see one day before these Brahmans who are not Muslims walk for 23 hours from house to house conveying the message. They come with a lantern. They do not say anything, they do not eat anything, they do not drink anything. That is a Hindu doing that. No Muslim has the stamina to do that for 23 hours.
It does not stop there. Why doesn’t the Western world know about him? Because the Muslim world has not been able to market him well. We live in a world of marketing. Where ever Muslims are they spread this. In India, in Indonesia, China. There are 13 million Muslims in China. In the Middle East, where there are Christians and Jews, you find each of them commemorating this. They do not need to be Muslims. The Jews from Iraq say they are Jews but they are Hussaini Jews. They mean that they stand up for this ideology.
It is an ideology. It is an institution. So lets look at the history of it. Many PhD’s have been done on this topic. The reality is that he was a man who was threatened with his family in Medina, in the city of his grandfather. A message came to swear allegiance to the khalifa of the time. At this stage he was the khalifa of God. But he didn’t. Why? Because if I give allegiance this will give legitimacy to a corrupt government. Any by doing that it will shake the very foundations of this religion.
Yezid knew that Hussain would not give him allegiance. And Yezid knew that he would have to kill. He thought that by killing him he would be victorious. Hussain knew that Yezid was coming for him to ask for allegiance. He knew that he could not give it because his humanity would not allow him to. He knew that he would be killed. But from his death would come life.
Hussain said he would not give allegiance. It is not for me to give allegiance. But you know what I will do? I will move away from the Islamic empire. There is a narration that says he would go to India. He did not want to destabilise the government. He wanted to protest and his protest would be that he would go away. He did not want any bloodshed so he went to Mecca.
Yazid had sent 40 people to kill him but he did not want any bloodshed on this holy land. He went with his family. If he was going for a battle he would not take his family. Gandhi said this revolution that I led, he learned it from Hussain. Pages and pages of it. Gandhi said he came to understand how to be a winner by being somebody who was oppressed. That is a big statement.
Napoleon and various non-Muslims continuously give these statements. You will see hundreds of posters of non-Muslims with these sayings if you go to Crickelwood.
Hussain left with his family. Various numbers have been given, 86, 100 but the reality is that it was a small group. He goes towards Kufa. Who were the Kufans? They were the people who invited him. They said why don’t you come, we will support you. He said ‘no’. He was not there for an uprising. He was not there to topple the government.
Eventually it got to the stage where they wrote him a letter. They said they wanted him to come because they needed some guidance. They needed somebody to help them religiously, morally and ethically. Hussain said this was his obligation. To help them, better them and rectify them.
He began to move. They said they would accept him as the imam. He gave 40 or 50 speeches but not many people actually investigate this. Many of them are mystical. They look at the transcendent nature of God, the idea of God being transcendent in one way but at the same time there is his mercy and whatever happens, happens for the good of humanity. Humanity, politics, society, how to achieve a state of enlightenment (the Hindus call it moksha), how to reach those levels and connect with God is in his speeches. In fact the ability to remove suffering from within your life and achieve peace.
According to a Christian narrator here is said I saw him standing on the plains of Karbala after his entire family had been massacred. I was wanting to see that moment when they cut Hussain’s head but I missed it because I saw his face in so much peace that I was wondering why his face was in so much peace. The next thing I saw it was cut and had been hoisted on a stick.
He was a person with such a profound level of peace that nothing affects him. But it affects our humanity. As he travels he passes Kufa and is taken to a place called Karbala. He is surrounded. He is saying:” Let us have a dialogue. Let us talk this through. I want to save you because you are entrapped. Oppression does not take you towards victory. You can kill me if you want to – I am ready for that. But I want to help you guys free yourselves. If you do not have freedom you have nothing. At least be free. Remove the oppression from inside people”.
Yazid asked for allegiance and Hussain could not give it. A fight broke out. Many people think that Hussain went for a suicide mission but that is not the case. Hussain, with 72 people, went to show that he was not going to battle. But when it came to battle he was there with two swords in his hand. A 57-year-old man whose six month old baby has been slaughtered and he was fighting to the very end. It was not a suicide mission. He took his women and his children with him.
Hussain gave two messages. One for Muslims. He told the world that what Yazid is doing is Islamically wrong. On the other level he gave a message for humanity a gross violation of human rights had taken place. There was also a violation of animal rights. His horses were killed. There was a violation of children’s rights. His children were killed. On every single level there was a violation. He showed that Yazid was a bad person.
If could have fought in a different way. The people of Medina wanted to give him an army to go and fight. History would have said it was a battle between two princes. But he took the veils off Yazid. He said my life needs to go, my blood needs to be spilt but everyone is going to die one day.
After this event you find that that nobody could touch the family of the Prophet. Islam’s corruption came to a stop. You notice that in the time of Yazid 50 years after the death of the Prophet all the laws were tarnished. Friday prayers were being prayed on a Wednesday.
Yazid sent an army Medina to loot and pillage. One thousand illegitimate children were born. The kaba was petrol bombed. Hussain removed the veils and said that this is what Yazid is. Three and a half years his governance comes to an end. Today people remember him as an institution of evil. They remember Hussain as an institution of good.
The idea is this. When he went there the first thing was the idea that I believe in God and therefore I have faith in God. And as a religious person this is very important. If you look at when his son was killed he said this very painful but it suits my heart that God is watching. The fact that you know, the fact that you are seeing this. It is on that level of mysticism. The mysticism is unbelievable.
He is sitting there conversing with God. He gets to a stage where everyone is gone and he is bloodied. And he says: “God are you now satisfied with me? Are you satisfied with my sacrifice. Take everything until you are satisfied with my sacrifice. Take everything. Take my blood, take my body. With this sacrifice I know that life is going to come”.
If you look his army you don’t see just Muslims. There was a Christian there. Hussain asked him :”Do you want to be on my side?” He said :”Yes, it is a noble cause.” There were people from Jewish backgrounds who were there. Africans were there. People who were ethnically East European. It was the united colours of Benetton coming together. They showed the world were standing against oppression.
That is why Hu
