Muharram and Lahore

Karbala and how Lahore was involved
November 26, 2012 by Majid Sheikh
http://dawn.com/2012/11/26/karbala-and-how-lahore-was-involved/print/

IN our school and college days we all loved to assist friends set up ‘sabeels’ alongside Lahore`s traditional ‘Ashura’ procession, providing cold drinks to the thousands who mourned. Sects and beliefs never mattered then. But then neither did one`s religion.

For well over 1,332 years, the tragedy of Karbala moves everyone who hears about it, be they Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Sikh or any other religion. This is one incident that brings out the need to support those with a moral position.

As children we attended the ‘sham-i-ghareeban’ with our Shia friends, and learnt the lesson of supporting those in the right. Everyone respected the beliefs of others. Yes, there were always a few silly chaps who wanted attention, but they were at best ignored.

The ancient city of Lahore is connected to the tragedy in no uncertain terms.

Historical accounts say seven brave warriors from Lahore died while fighting in the Battle of Karbala. It is said their father Rahab Dutt, an old man who traded with Arabia in those days, had promised the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him) to stand by his grandson in his fight to uphold the truth.

That pledge the brave Rajput Mohiyals of the Dutt clan from Lahore upheld.

Today they are known as Hussaini Brahmins, who lived in Lahore till 1947.

Then there is the fact that besides the Hindu Rajputs of Lahore, in the battle also fought John bin Huwai, a freed Christian slave of Abu Dharr al-Ghafari, whose `alleged` descendents, one researcher claims, still live inside the Walled City of Lahore.

I have been on the track of these ancestors for quite some time and have been able to trace one Christian family living inside Mori Gate. They claim to have a connection with a `Sahabi` whose name they cannot recollect. M. A. Karanpikar`s `Islam in Transition`, written over 250 years ago, made this claim, but I do not think it is a claim worth pursuing.

But the most powerful claim of Lahore as the place where the descendents of Hussain ibn All came lies in the Bibi Pak Daman graveyard, where the grave of Ruquiya, sister of Hussain ibn Ali and wife of Muslim ibn Ageel, is said to exist.

Also graves here attributed to the sisters of Muslim ibn Ageel and other family members. Many dispute this claim.

But then no less a person than Ali Hasan of Hajweri, known popularly as Data Sahib, came here every Thursday to offer ‘fateha’ at the grave, informing his followers that this was the grave of Ruquiya. The place where he always stood to offer `fateha` has been marked out, and his book also verifies this claim. Mind you detractors exist, of this have no doubt, but the supporting evidence is quite strong.

Let me begin the story of the Dutts by going through the record of the Shaukat Khanum Hospital and the recorded fact that Indian film star Sunil Dutt, who belonged to Lahore, made a donation to the hospital and recorded the following words: ‘For Lahore, like my elders, I will shed every drop of blood and give any donation asked for, just as my ancestors did when they laid down their lives at Karbala for Hazrat Imam Husain.

Makes you think -but then there is this account which says that the seven sons of Rahab Dutt lost their lives defending the Imam at Karbala. The Martyr’s List at Qum verifies this. History records when the third thrust by Yazid’s forces came, the Dutt brothers refused to let them pass. The seven Punjabi swordsmen stood their ground till they were felled by hundreds of horsemen. In lieu of the loyalty of the Dutt family to that of the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him) was coined the famous saying: ‘Wah Dutt Sultan, Hindu ka dharm, Musalman ka iman, Adha Hindu adha Musalman.’ Since then, so the belief goes, Muslims were instructed never to try to convert the Dutts to Islam.

A grieving Rahab returned to the land of his ancestors, and after staying in Afghanistan, returned to Lahore. I have tried my very best to locate their ‘mohallah’ inside the Walled City, and my educated guess is that it is Mohallah Maulian inside Lohari Gate. Later they moved to Mochi Gate, and it was there that the famous Dutts lived before 1947 saw them flee from the hate of the people they gave everything for.

The most interesting thing about the Hussaini Brahmins is that they are highly respected among Hindus, and even more amazingly it is said that all direct ancestors of Rahab Dutt are born with a light slash mark on their throat, a sort of symbol of their sacrifice. I was reading a piece by Prof Doonica Dutt of Delhi University who verified this claim and said that all true Dutts belong to Lahore.

I must point out to an amazing version of these events that an Indian historian, Chawala, has come up with. It says that one of the wives of Hazrat Imam Husain, the Persian princess Shahr Banu, was the sister of Chandra Lekha or Mehr Banu, the wife of an Indian king Chandragupta. We know that he ruled over Lahore. When it became clear that Yazid ibn Muawiya was determined to eliminate Hussain ibn Ali, the son of Hussain (named Ali) rushed off a letter to Chandragupta asking for assistance. The Mauriyan king, allegedly, dispatched a large army to Iraq to assist. By the time they arrived, the Tragedy of Karbala had taken place.

In Kufa in Iraq a disciple of Hazrat Imam Husain is said to have arranged for them to stay in a special part of the town, which even today is known by the name of Dair-i-Hindiya or ‘the Indian quarter’ The Hussaini Brahmins believe that in the Kalanki Purana, the last of 18 Puranas, as well as the Atharva Veda, the 4th Veda, refers to Hazrat Imam Husain as the avatar of the Kali Yug, the present age. They believe that the family of the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him)is Om Murti, the most respected family before the Almighty.

All these facts bring me back to our days as school children working hard to provide relief to the mourners on Ashura. Reminds me of our neighbour Nawab Raza Ali Qizilbash, who invited us to his ‘haveli’ every year to see the preparations before the event. Raza Bhai is no more, and neither is the tolerance that we all enjoyed so much.

BBC Urdu Blog: Scratching the Shias from Pakistan?

 

میں سچا مسلمان کیسے بنوں؟

 

ایک سنی دیوبندی گھرانے میں پیدا ہونے والا وسعت اللہ خان خود کو ایک اچھا مسلمان ثابت کرنے کے لئے کہاں تک جائے، کیا کرے ؟؟؟

شاید شیعوں کو مارنے سے میرا کام نہیں چلے گا۔ شائد اور بہت کچھ کرنا پڑے گا۔

تو کیا بو علی سینا کی قبر پر جا کے تھوک دوں؟

بابائے الجبرا الخوارزمی کے فارمولے جلا دوں؟

بابائے کیمیا جابر بن حیان کی ہڈیاں زمین سے نکال لوں؟

بابائے فلکیات البیرونی کے مزار کو آگ لگادوں؟

مورخ المسعودی کی تاریخِ اسلام حرام سمجھ لوں؟

حضرت معروف ِ کرخی کے تصوف، ملا صدرا کے نظریہِ وجودیت اور سیّد علی ہمدانی کی تبلیغ کو شرک کے خانےمیں رکھ دوں؟

عمرِ خیام کی رباعیات چھلنی کر دوں؟

شاہ نامہ والے فردوسی کا تہران یونیورسٹی میں لگا مجسمہ گرا دوں؟

ڈاکٹر علی شریعتی کو مرتد مان لوں؟

جو بھی قلی قطب شاہ، میر، غالب، انیس، دبیر، اکبر الہ آبادی، جوش، علی سردار جعفری، کیفی اعظمی اور جون ایلیا کے شعر پڑھے، پڑھائے یا حوالہ دے، کیا اس کا منہ نوچ لوں؟

اردو کا سب سے بڑا ناول آگ کا دریا، دریا برد کردوں؟ خاک اچھا ہوگا ایسا ناول جسے قرت العین جیسی شیعہ نے لکھا ہو۔

اور صادقین نامی شیعہ کی قرانی کیلی گرافی کسی تہہ خانے میں چھپا دوں؟

کیا جہانگیر کی ایرانی محبوبہ نور جہاں کو بھی ذہن سے مٹا دوں؟

تاج محل کو ڈائنامائیٹ لگا دوں جس میں سنی شاہ جہاں کی شیعہ اہلیہ ممتاز محل سو رہی ہے؟

نادر شاہ کا تذکرہ صفحات سے کیسے کھرچوں؟

بتائیے حیدر علی شیعہ اور شیر کی ایک دن کی زندگی گیدڑ کی سو سالہ زندگی سے بہتر ہے والے فتح علی ٹیپو سلطان کے ساتھ کیا کروں؟

جنگِ آزادی کی ہیروئن بیگم حضرت محل کا تذکرہ کہاں لے جاؤں؟

جس شخص کو بانیِ پاکستان کہا جاتا ہے اس پر سے شیعت کا دھبہ کیسے مٹاؤں؟ اسے تو غالباً سنی علامہ اقبال نے ضد کرکے انگلستان سے بلوایا تھا نا۔

اور یہ راجہ صاحب محمود آباد اپنی شیعت بھول بھال کر پاکستان کی نوزائیدہ مملکت پر دامے درمے کیوں قربان ہوگئے۔ شاید وہ پاکستان کو شیعہ ریاست بنانا چاہتے تھے ۔تبھی تو !!!!

اور ایوب خان کو کسی راسخ العقیدہ نے بروقت کیوں مشورہ نہیں دیا کہ ایک سنی اکثریتی نظریاتی ملک کی حسّاس فوجی قیادت ایک ہزارہ شیعہ جنرل موسی کے حوالے نا کرے۔ اور دیکھو ایوب خان نے مزید کیا غضب کیا کہ پینسٹھ کی جنگ لڑنے کی ذمہ داری بھی جنرل موسی کو تھما دی۔

اور سادہ لوح سنیوں نے یہ کیا کیا کہ ذوالفقار علی بھٹو کو کندھے پر اٹھا لیا۔ کیا انہیں کسی نے نہیں بتایا کہ وہ شیعہ ہے اور سینہ زوری دیکھو کہ خبردار کرنے کے باوجود بھی اس کی بیٹی کو دو دفعہ وزیرِ اعظم بنا لیا ؟؟؟

شاید گلگت اور بلتستان کے شیعوں کو بالکل ٹھیک سزا مل رہی ہے۔ آخر کس نے کیپٹن حسن، صوبیدار میجر بابر اور ان کے ساتھیوں کو کہا تھا کہ خود ہی بندوق اٹھا لیں، خود ہی کشمیر کی ڈوگرہ حکومت کی غلامی کندھوں سے اتار پھینکیں اور آزادی کمانے کے لگ بھگ بیس روز بعد ہی پاکستان سے آئے ہوئے پہلے پولٹیکل ایجنٹ کو سیلوٹ مار کےگلگت بلتستان کی چابیاں اس کے حوالے کردیں۔ آج بھی ان کی نسلیں اس پر اتراتی ہیں کہ باقی پاکستان تو میز پر بنا۔ ہم نے اپنا حصہ بندوق سے آزاد کروایا۔ مگر ان نسلوں کو اتنی عقل نہیں ہے کہ قومی شناختی کارڈ پر اپنا نام ہی تبدیل کروالیں۔

اور یہ نگر اور ہنزہ کی اسماعیلی شیعہ ریاستیں کس برتے پر پاکستان میں مدغم ہو گئیں؟

جانے کیا سوچ کر حوالدار لالک جان انیس سو ننانوے میں کارگل کی چوٹیوں پر جان دے کر نشانِ حیدر والوں کی صف میں شامل ہوگیا۔ تو کیا میں یہ مطالبہ کردوں کہ اس شیعہ سے نشانِ حیدر واپس لیا جائے اور اسے شہید نا کہا جائے اور یہ نشانِ حیدر کس نے نام رکھا؟ کیا پاکستان کے اعلی ترین فوجی اعزاز کا نام نشانِ صحابہ، نشانِ جھنگوی، نشانِ جیش، نشانِ طالب یا نشانِ قاعدہ رکھتے ہوئے ہتک محسوس ہوتی ہے ؟؟؟

مجھے پانچ سال کی عمر میں انگلی پکڑ کے اے بی سی ڈی سے متعارف کرانے والے استاد کے سنگِ مزار پر سے حمید حسن نقوی کا نام کھرچوا کے دلاور خان یا خورشید صدیقی یا اسلم فاروقی یا بابر بلوچ یا پھر بھگوان داس لکھوانے سے کیا کام چل جائے گا ؟؟؟؟

بتائیے نا! آخر کیا کروں خود کو ایک اچھا سچا مسلمان ثابت کرنے کے لئے ؟؟؟؟

 

 

Just a quick clarification: Nagar is a Twelver Shia populated region in Gilgit-Baltistan. Across Nagar is the Ismaili Shia region of Hunza.

 

Bahraini poet tortured and sentenced to one year in prison

Update: July 14, 2011

Bahraini regime releases Ayat Al-Qormezi, but does not revoke sentence
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/bahrain-releases-poet-who-became-a-symbol-of-resistance-to-regime-2313309.html

Video: Ayat al-Qormezi in a cheering crowd after the release
http://shiatv.net/view_video.php?viewkey=48d72658717f3d3d135f

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The Bahraini regime recently appointed Khalifa Al Dhahrani as the head of the national dialogue - the same Dhahrani who is said to be responsible for the sham investigations against many prominent political figures sympathetic to the opposition. The appointment followed the Bahraini crown prince's visit to Washington just a few days ago. This should be an eye opener to anyone still deluded by the rhetoric of reforms by the regime or the Obama administration. Meanwhile, the regime has continued its brutal suppression against the non-violent protesters using the weapons that were sold by U.S. companies with the approval of the U.S. government.

Just yesterday, the regime's military court sentenced the brave poet, Ayat Al Qormezi, to one year in prison.


Ayat Al-Qormezi, a 20-year-old poet and trainee at the Faculty of Teachers in Bahrain was arrested two months ago for reading out a passionate poem at a freedom rally.

"We are the people who kill humiliation and assassinate misery," she told a massive crowd of protesters in the famous Pearl Square in February. "We are the people who use peace to destroy the foundation of injustice."

Addressing Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa directly, she said: "Don't you hear their cries, don't you hear their screams?"

Toward the end of her poem, she prayed: “The Sunni and Shia are brothers. God care for them all!”

As she finished, the crowd shouted: "Down with Hamad!"

A few days later the Bahraini security forces raided her house, but did not find her. She was forced to give herself up when the forces threatened to kill her four brothers one by one in front of her parents.

Ayat has not been by her family since then. She did speak to her mother once on the phone. “During her detention she was whipped across the face with electric cable, held for nine days in a tiny cell with the temperature near freezing, and was forced to clean lavatories with her bare hands.” (The Independent, June 11 and 13, 2011). Later, it was found out that she was in a military hospital due to injuries from the torture.

On June 12, she was sentenced to one year in prison.

According to The Independent, “The details of her interrogation and imprisonment are similar to the experiences of other women detained by Bahraini security forces since they launched a full scale repression on 15 March…” (June 11, 2011)

Moreover, despite the lifting of martial law on June 1, 'some 600 people are still detained, at least 2,000 have been sacked, and more than 27 mosques have been bulldozed.' (June 2, 2011)

'Erdogan says we still feel the pain of Karbala'

For the first time in Turkey's contemporary history, a state leader attended and delivered a speech to an Ashura gathering. In his speech on December 16, the day of Ashura commemoration this year, Turkish PM Rajep Tayyip Erdogan stressed Islamic Unity and said that Imam Hussain was for all the Muslims.



The attendance no doubt was a powerful political gesture and is indicative of the current 'anti-Israel, pro-Iran' stance of not only the PM but also tens of thousands of common people in Turkey, and beyond. In the latest poll carried out by Zogby International and the University of Maryland in the summer of 2010, the people in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, and the United Arab Emirates were asked to name the world leader they admired the most. Erdogan was among the most popular ones this year, whereas just a couple of years ago he had close to nil votes. The diplomatic ties between Turkey and Israel soured in the last two years, especially after the Israeli onslaught on Gaza in Dec 2008-Jan 2009 and the May 2010 attack on Gaza aid flotilla that killed nine Turkish citizens.

Former Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati was also present on the occasion and spoke to the crowd.

Erdogan says we still feel the pain of Karbala
Tehran Times, Dec 18, 2010
Source

ISTANBUL - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and former Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati attended an Ashura ceremony in Turkey on Thursday.

Velayati, who is currently a senior advisor of Iran’s Supreme Leader, attended the ceremony in Istanbul on the invitation of the leader of Turkey’s Shia Muslims, Salah al-Din Ozgunduz.

Thousands of Turkish Shia braved freezing temperatures to commemorate the day of Ashura, which is the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (AS) and his 72 companions, with a procession through the streets of Istanbul.

Erdogan attended the ceremony this year for the first time since his AK party came to power in 2002.

Erdogan, who is a follower of the Hanafi school of the Sunni branch of Islam, delivered a speech at the ceremony, in which he discussed the importance of unity between Shia and Sunni Muslims.

“We have been feeling the pain of Karbala for 1,370 years. We have to feel that pain in our hearts. We remember (Imam) Hussein (AS) whenever an innocent person is killed,” the Turkish prime minister said as he began his speech.

“This country is ours, these lands are all ours, this history, this civilization is ours. Nobody can claim superiority to any other. We are equal to each other and we are all brothers in these lands. We are all first-class citizens of this country. The problems of all religious groups in my country are mine. That's why we are struggling to address century-old problems through consensus. Aren’t there those who oppose us? Of course, there are. But we will overcome this with patience,” Erdogan added.

Erdogan’s participation in Ashura ceremony is a sign of Islamic unity

Addressing the Ashura mourners in Istanbul, Velayati described Erdogan’s participation in the ceremony as an extremely significant symbol of Islamic unity.

He also pointed to Turkey’s role in defending Islamic values and foiling plots against Muslim countries.

Ashura symbolizes unity among Muslims, justice, devotion, and the struggle against oppression, Velayati added.

He stated that all Muslims shoulder the responsibility of defending the principles of Islam and fighting against the enemies.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Velayati commented on the Palestine issue and called on all Muslims to stand with the Palestinians.

On Thursday, Velayati held a meeting with Erdogan in which they discussed the latest regional and international developments as well as issues of mutual interest.

Arbaeen Procession in Karachi: A Short Eyewitness Account

"There were clear reports in the media that the Arbaeen (also called, Chehlum) procession in Karachi would be targeted by terrorists once again, following the deadly attack on the last Ashura. No real guarantees that anyone participating in the commemorations would return home safely. But that did not stop the mourners from joining. It was estimated that the turn out was at least three times higher than usual – much more than what was on the day of the last Ashura. A good number of mourners came wearing symbolic white shrouds. Some shrouds had written on them Azadari Ya Shahadat (Commemoration or Martyrdom!), others had Shahadat Sa'adat (Martyrdom is Success). Even after reports of the two blasts that came one after another within the span of just two hours in the afternoon, the mourners – men, women, children, elderly – continued their march, unceasingly chanting, Labbaik Ya Hussain, Labbaik Ya Hussain.

The mourners clearly understood that the real target was Muharram processions. The enemies wanted to confine these processions to indoors. They wanted to reduce them to a spiritless ritual, so that these gatherings that inspire the world with the message of truth and resistance against injustice of any kind would not be effective any more. After the last Ashura blast, some well-intentioned but naïve people in the authorities also made similar suggestions of "limiting" or "confining" the processions in the name of security. But over years of being targeted by one or another form of violence, the Shias in Pakistan have understood very well the real goals of their enemies. The enemies want to impose a 'defeatist mentality' on them, that the Shias would be allowed to perform their religious practices as long as they remain invisible in the public sphere, and that they should not dare to interfere in determining the future of religion and politics in Pakistan or resist the neo-imperial plots in the region.

No single person or organization was controlling the miles-long Arbaeen procession on Friday. It had not been surprising for any other crowd to lose patience and break discipline upon hearing the news of the tragic blasts. That is perhaps what the terrorists would have wanted. But the self-discipline with which the mourners continued the procession spoke of their political maturity and fearless devotion as a nation. One was reminded of the political resilience and organized response of the Lebanese Shias during and after the 2006 Israeli war."

Also see,
Muharram Blasts in Karachi: Why the Government is Implicated

Six Talking Points about the Ashura blast in Karachi

photo courtesy: online

Jewish human rights activists come to support Palestinian farmers

Jews protect Palestinians in harvest of hate
By Donald Macintyre in Awarta, West Bank, The Independent, October 10, 2008
Source

In the shade of the trees where they have been picking olives all morning, in this wadi, south-east of Nablus, a Palestinian farmer, Jamal Otman Koarik, and two of his daughters share a lunch of home-baked bread, zatar, oil, courgettes and salad with three visitors. It's a bucolic scene that could have happened any time in the past century. But what makes it notable in 2008 is that the guests who have been helping Mr Koarik pick the olives are Israeli Jews: a rabbi, an anthropologist and a youth worker, Hellela Siew.

Born in Tel Aviv, Ms Siew served in the army, took a university degree, then a teacher's diploma. Thirty-six years ago, she took the tough decision to emigrate to London, telling her parents: "I won't come back until there's peace." Ms Siew, who is now 64, remains an Israeli citizen but now lives with her British husband in Hebden Bridge. She has kept to her word, except that each autumn she comes back to stay in her hometown with her relatives and spends each day of the two-month harvest season picking olives on Palestinian farmland in the West Bank.

And Ms Siew does that for a purpose. Up on the ridge above us, you can see the red roofs of Itamar, a notably hard-line Jewish settlement, and she is here to help protect the Palestinian farmers from the threat of settler violence which has so often scarred the olive harvests.

Last year, she was in a group in the South Hebron Hills confronted by settlers who fired shots from a pistol and an M16 assault rifle, despite the presence of the army and police. "Then one of the soldiers said, 'Look, one of them is coming down with a jug of water for you'. The settler emptied the jug over me. It was full of human shit."

Mr Koarik, the olive farmer, says he has no difficulty distinguishing between the settlers who fired on and burnt out his tractor during the harvest six years ago and the Jews who come to help him. "I welcome them here like they are my family," the 40-year-old says. Looking up at the settlement, Ms Siew tries to explain, as a lifelong opponent of the occupation, why she comes each year. "When there was the big demonstration against the Iraq war in England people carried banners saying 'Not in my name'. I'm trying to do something against what is being done in my name."

Ms Siew was brought here by the Israeli group Rabbis for Human Rights, led by Rabbi Arik Ascherman who has led a never-ending campaign to persuade the army and police to enforce the Palestinian olive growers' right to farm their land despite the settlers' attempts to stop them. RHR has made a special effort this year to maximise its volunteer numbers because of the growing incidence of settler violence against Palestinians in the past few months.

Rabbi Ascherman says that apart from one notably ugly and violent confrontation with aggressive settlers in Hebron last week, the harvest has been relatively quiet. But it has only just begun. And while the army insists that it will "strive" to ensure as normal a harvest as possible, Rabbi Ascherman is considering returning to the Supreme Court because of restrictions he says the military is still imposing on the farmers even in areas opened up under a 2006 order made by the Court.

Asked why he and his volunteers make this often risky mission each year, the US-born rabbi says "if we really believe" the Biblical text that all human beings are made in God's image, "we have got to put our money where our mouth is and be here in an active way to defend human rights". And he also cites the "dialogue of the olive groves" in which Israelis and Palestinians who "have to live and die here together" have "no choice but to communicate" if they also work together. "I think this is not only the just and right and Jewish thing to do, but it's the self-interested thing to do. We are going to survive."
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Also see:
Settlers increase attacks on Palestinians as olive picking season begins (IMEMC, Oct 9, 2008)

Shias, Sunnis celebrate Eid together in Lucknow

Not that celebrating Eid together is something new and doesn't happen in other regions of the world with significant Sunni and Shia population. The common Sunnis and Shias have generally lived along with each other for centuries. They shared cultures, languages, lifestyles, businesses, intermarriages, friendships, and common historical experiences. This is despite their differences and occasional tensions. But I wanted to quote the below story to emphasize the 'coexistence' aspect, since too often the media seem to be focused on the 'conflict' between the two groups.

Shias, Sunnis celebrate Eid together in Lucknow
By Kamal Khan, Anant Zanane, NDTV.com, October 02, 2008
Source

LUCKNOW For years, Mecca was the only place in the world where Muslims from different sects offered Namaaz together. But now, it is happening in Lucknow too.

It began as a gesture in 2007 and it is already almost a tradition.

"When Shias and Sunnis from Lucknow go for Haj, they go together. They go together to the muzdelefa, satharafat. They do the twaf together. So when they return to Lucknow, why do they go to separate mosques? In Haj, we are trained to be together, so we should stay together over here as well," said Dr Kalbe Sadiq, vice president, AIMPLB.

This Eid, Shias will offer prayers at this Idgah, which is managed by Sunnis and the man leading them will be Sunni cleric Maulana Kahlid Rashid.

"I think this will give a very clear and good message not only throughout Lucknow and India, but throughout the world as there are Shia-Sunni conflicts in other parts of the world also," said Maulana Khalid Rashid, Sunni cleric.

The city of Lucknow has been witness to volatile relations between the two sects with often riots breaking out during Moharram. But this unique gesture will undoubtedly help offset the strained relations between Shias and Sunnis.

More than 30 N. Virginia Congregations form Interfaith Advocacy Group for the Poor

A Binding Concern for the Poor
By Jacqueline L. Salmon, Washington Post, October 4, 2008
Source

Nearly 2,000 members of 40 houses of worship in Northern Virginia are expected at a public meeting tomorrow in Dumfries to launch an interfaith organization that will seek commitments from public officials to do more to help the poor in the area.

The organization, Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement, or VOICE, is asking local, state and federal officials to increase funding for affordable housing and health care and to ease the backlog of U.S. citizen applications in Northern Virginia.

With a collective membership of 120,000 people, the congregations making up VOICE could prove to be a potent political force in Northern Virginia. Until now, interfaith efforts there have not been as influential or as diverse as in Maryland or the District.

"I haven't ever seen any organization with the potential of VOICE in terms of actually promoting justice in the area," said the Rev. Gerry Creedon, pastor of St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Arlington County, who expects to bring about 100 members of his congregation to the gathering.

But the group's list of funding priorities has received a mixed reaction from public officials faced with looming budget deficits.

"I think we're more than fulfilling the goals that they're trying to pursue," said Gerald E. Connolly (D), chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. "We had these goals long before the group even got formed, and so we are happy to have them on the scene as allies for what we're already doing."

Corey A. Stewart (R), chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, rejected the group's demand that the county spend upward of $20 million on building and preserving affordable housing.

"I'm not going to commit to that -- absolutely not," said Stewart, who nonetheless expects to attend the meeting Sunday. "Instead of focusing on the funding, we have to focus on what the problem is -- which is a surplus of housing on the market" from the epidemic of home foreclosures that have hit Prince William, he said.

Organizers of VOICE said they aren't deterred.

"It's quite obvious that, given our current economic posture, trying to go out with new housing and new construction is not going to wash," said the Rev. Clyde W. Ellis, pastor of Mount Olive Baptist Church in Woodbridge. "But that doesn't mean we have to lose sight of our goal. . . . We're coming back. And when we come back, we want to make sure that we're very sensitive to those priorities of affordable housing."

Northern Virginia clergy launched an effort to put together an interfaith organization in 2005 after watching the success of similar groups elsewhere in the Washington area, including the Washington Interfaith Network and Action in Montgomery, both of which played key roles in winning millions for neighborhood investment and affordable housing.

"As along as we're isolated -- congregation or church or faith community -- we face our own issues without realizing that they're much more universal," said the Rev. Horace "Tuck" Grinnell, pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Falls Church and one of the founding clergy members.

VOICE received advice and initial funding from the Industrial Areas Foundation, a Chicago organization that builds activist coalitions from voluntary organizations such as religious congregations, labor unions and immigrant groups. IAF helped found the Washington Interfaith Network and Action in Montgomery.

Clergy and members of Christian, Jewish and Muslim congregations in Northern Virginia spent three years networking and sorting through issues they believed most affected low- and middle-income residents. They ultimately focused on immigration, affordable housing and health care and then developed goals within those areas, which they presented to city, county and state leaders and members of Northern Virginia's congressional delegation in a dozen recent meetings.

Public officials who attend tomorrow's event will be asked to commit to working with the group on its goals, the leaders said. Among the leaders expected to attend are former governor Mark Warner (D), who is running for U.S. Senate, state Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax), Alexandria Mayor William D. Euille and Arlington Board Chairman J. Walter Tejada.

"From the elected officials' side," Grinnell said, "they're going to see the birth of an interfaith organization as a huge ally for them if they do the right thing or a huge obstacle if they do the wrong thing."

---------------

Also see:

InsideNoVa.com: Thousands of church members meet near Dumfries

Lebanon Jews Tap Diaspora to Rebuild Beirut's Shelled Synagogue

Lebanon Jews Tap Diaspora to Rebuild Beirut's Shelled Synagogue

By Massoud A. Derhally, Bloomberg.com, September 17, 2008

Source

Sept. 18 (Bloomberg) -- In 1983, Isaac Arazi and his wife were caught in sectarian fighting during Lebanon's 15-year civil war. A Shiite Muslim militiaman helped the couple escape.

Arazi, a leader of Lebanon's tiny Jewish community, sees the incident as a lesson in the Arab country's tradition of tolerance. Now he is trying to make use of that tradition, along with the global diaspora of Lebanese Jews, in a drive to rebuild Beirut's only synagogue, damaged during the war.

``Those who don't have a past don't have a future,'' Arazi said to explain his push to rebuild the synagogue.

Beirut's Maghen Abraham Synagogue opened in 1926 in Wadi Abou Jmil, the city's Jewish quarter, located on the edge of west Beirut near the Grand Serai palace, where the government meets, and within walking distance of parliament.

Lebanon then was something of a haven for Jews, some of whom were the descendants of those who had fled the Spanish inquisition; it later served a similar role for refugees from Nazi Germany. With ``no history of anti-Jewish tensions,'' it was the only Arab country whose Jewish population rose after Israel's creation in 1948, according to Kirsten Schulze, a lecturer at the London School of Economics and author of ``The Jews of Lebanon.''

By the mid-1960s, there were as many as 22,000 Lebanese Jews, said Arazi, 65. In addition to heading the Jewish Community Council he owns a food-machinery business with 1,000 customers.

All Together

``Christians, Muslims and Jews were all living together when I was growing up,'' said Liza Srour, 57. ``Whenever there was a war with Israel, or tension, the government used to provide protection for us.''

That changed with the nation's 1975-1990 civil war, as Jews fled the violence triggered by rivalries among the nation's Christian, Muslim and Druze factions and emigrated to Europe, North and South America.

Now, Arazi said, only 100 Jews live permanently in the country, while another 1,900 go back and forth or have intermarried into other religions. Srour is the only Jew still residing in Wadi Abou Jmil.

In 1982, according to an Associated Press report at the time, Israeli shells tore through roof of Maghen Abraham as the Jewish state invaded southern Lebanon in an effort to crush Palestinian guerrillas. The synagogue has been closed ever since, its brittle entrance gate chained and padlocked. Plaster and rubble are scattered on the floor.

Political Calm

Arazi figures it will cost about $1 million to restore the synagogue. Making the effort possible is the end of an 18-month crisis between Lebanon's political factions, the blessing of the Lebanese government, financial support from a downtown reconstruction project and acquiescence from the Shiite Hezbollah movement that fought a month-long war against Israel in 2006.

He so far has raised about $40,000 for the project, but has promises of more. Ten percent of the estimated cost will come from Solidere SAL, a company founded in 1994 by then-Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri -- later assassinated in a bombing supporters blame on Syria -- to rebuild the capital's downtown.

The company has given $150,000 to each of 14 religious organizations that are restoring places of worship in Lebanon -- about $2.1 million in all. ``We help all the communities,'' said Solidere chairman Nasser Chammaa.

The Safra family, whose Safra Group includes Brazil's Banco Safra SA and Safra National Bank of New York and which was based in Lebanon in the 1940s as part of the Jewish community, has agreed to help fund the project once work begins, Arazi said.

Financial Help

Joseph R. Safra, nephew of Republic National Bank of New York founder Edmond Safra, said: ``We do not comment on private matters.'' Joseph Safra heads Arview Holdings, Inc., a New York financial-consulting and advisory firm.

Two banks in Switzerland whose founders have Lebanese- Jewish roots also agreed to provide financing, Arazi said. One of the banks has pledged $100,000 toward the synagogue's restoration. Arazi declined to name the banks.

Even the warring factions in Lebanon's government have blessed the project. ``This is a religious place of worship and its restoration is welcome,'' Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, 65, said in an interview. Hussain Rahal, a spokesman for Hezbollah, said his group -- which refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist, and which the West considers a terrorist organization -- also supports the restoration of Maghen Abraham.

``We respect the Jewish religion just like we do Christianity,'' he said. ``The Jews have always lived among us. We have an issue with Israel's occupation of land.''

Arazi said work on the restoration is to begin next month. Meanwhile, his council is already working on plans for its next project: restoring Beirut's Jewish cemetery, where about 4,500 people are buried.

Walking among the weeds overgrowing the cemetery's tombstones, Arazi said: ``I remember my father when I come here.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Massoud A. Derhally in Beirut at mderhally@bloomberg.net

Dahr Jamail: Samarra Bombings - Who Benefits?

Samarra Bombings - Who Benefits?

Dahr Jamail, February 24, 2006

Source

The most important question to ask regarding the bombings of the Golden Mosque in Samarra on the 22nd is: who benefits?

Prior to asking this question, let us note the timing of the bombing. The last weeks in Iraq have been a PR disaster for the occupiers.

First, the negative publicity of the video of British soldiers beating and abusing young Iraqis has generated a backlash for British occupation forces they’ve yet to face in Iraq.

Indicative of this, Abdul Jabbar Waheed, the head of the Misan provincial council in southern Iraq, announced his councils’ decision to lift the immunity British forces have enjoyed, so that the soldiers who beat the young Iraqis can be tried in Iraqi courts. Former U.S. proconsul Paul Bremer had issued an order granting all occupation soldiers and western contractors immunity to Iraqi law when he was head of the CPA…but this province has now decided to lift that so the British soldiers can be investigated and tried under Iraqi law.

This deeply meaningful event, if replicated around Iraq, will generate a huge rift between the occupiers and local governments. A rift which, of course, the puppet government in Baghdad will be unable to mend.

The other huge event which drew Iraqis into greater solidarity with one another was more photos and video aired depicting atrocities within Abu Ghraib at the hands of U.S. occupation forces.

The inherent desecration of Islam and shaming of the Iraqi people shown in these images enrages all Iraqis.

In a recent press conference, the aforementioned Waheed urged the Brits to allow members of the provincial committee to visit a local jail to check on detainees; perhaps Waheed is alarmed as to what their condition may be after seeing more photos and videos from Abu Ghraib.

Waheed also warned British forces that if they didn’t not comply with the demands of the council, all British political, security and reconstruction initiatives will be boycotted.

Basra province has already taken similar steps, and similar machinations are occurring in Kerbala.

Basra and Misan provinces, for example, refused to raise the cost of petrol when the puppet government in Baghdad, following orders from the IMF, decided to recently raise the cost of Iraqi petrol at the pumps several times last December.

The horrific attack which destroyed much of the Golden Mosque generated sectarian outrage which led to attacks on over 50 Sunni mosques. Many Sunni mosques in Baghdad were shot, burnt, or taken over. Three Imans were killed, along with scores of others in widespread violence.

This is what was shown by western corporate media.

As quickly as these horrible events began, they were called to an end and replaced by acts of solidarity between Sunni and Shia across Iraq.

This, however, was not shown by western corporate media.

The Sunnis were the first to go to demonstrations of solidarity with Shia in Samarra, as well as to condemn the mosque bombings. Demonstrations of solidarity between Sunni and Shia went off over all of Iraq: in Basra, Diwaniyah, Nasiriyah, Kut, and Salah al-Din.

Thousands of Shia marched shouting anti-American slogans through Sadr City, the huge Shia slum area of Baghdad, which is home to nearly half the population of the capital city. Meanwhile, in the primarily Shia city of Kut, south of Baghdad, thousands marched while shouting slogans against America and Israel and burning U.S. and Israeli flags.

Baghdad had huge demonstrations of solidarity, following announcements by several Shia religious leaders not to attack Sunni mosques.

Attacks stopped after these announcements, coupled with those from Sadr, which I’ll discuss shortly.

Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, shortly after the Golden Mosque was attacked, called for “easing things down and not attacking any Sunni mosques and shrines,” as Sunni religious authorities called for a truce and invited everyone to block the way of those trying to generate a sectarian war.

Sistani’s office issued this statement: “We call upon believers to express their protest … through peaceful means. The extent of their sorrow and shock should not drag them into taking actions that serve the enemies who have been working to lead Iraq into sectarian strife.”

Shiite religious authority Ayatollah Hussein Ismail al-Sadr warned of the emergence of a sectarian strife “that terrorists want to ignite between the Iraqis” by the bombings and said, “The Iraqi Shiite authority strenuously denied that Sunnis could have done this work.”

He also said, “Of course it is not Sunnis who did this work; it is the terrorists who are the enemies of the Shiites and Sunni, Muslims and non Muslims. They are the enemies of all religions; terrorism does not have a religion.”

He warned against touching any Sunni Mosque, saying, “our Sunni brothers’ mosques must be protected and we must all stand against terrorism and sabotage.” He added: ‘The two shrines are located in the Samarra region, which [is] predominantly Sunni. They have been protecting, using and guarding the mosques for years, it is not them but terrorism that targeted the mosques…”

He ruled out the possibility of a civil war while telling a reporter, “I don’t believe there will a civil or religious war in Iraq; thank God that our Sunni and Shiite references are urging everyone to not respond to these terrorist and sabotage acts. We are aware of their attempts as are our people; Sistani had issued many statements [regarding this issue] just as we did.”

The other, and more prominent Sadr, Muqtada Al-Sadr, who has already lead two uprisings against occupation forces, held Takfiris [those who regard other Muslims as infidels], Ba’thists, and especially the foreign occupation responsible for the bombing attack on the Golden Mosque in Samarra.

Sadr, who suspended his visit to Lebanon and cancelled his meeting with the president there, promptly returned to Iraq in order to call on the Iraqi parliament to vote on the request for the departure of the occupation forces from Iraq.

“It was not the Sunnis who attacked the shrine of Imam Al-Hadi, God’s peace be upon him, but rather the occupation [forces] and Ba’athists…God damn them. We should not attack Sunni mosques. I ordered Al-Mahdi Army to protect the Shi’i and Sunni shrines.”

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, urged Iraqi Shia not to seek revenge against Sunni Muslims, saying there were definite plots “to force the Shia to attack the mosques and other properties respected by the Sunni. Any measure to contribute to that direction is helping the enemies of Islam and is forbidden by sharia.”

Instead, he blamed the intelligence services of the U.S. and Israel for being behind the bombs at the Golden Mosque.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair stated that those who committed the attack on the Golden Mosque “have only one motive: to create a violent sedition between the Sunnis and the Shiites in order to derail the Iraqi rising democracy from its path.”

Well said Mr. Blair, particularly when we keep in mind the fact that less than a year ago in Basra, two undercover British SAS soldiers were detained by Iraqi security forces whilst traveling in a car full of bombs and remote detonators.

Jailed and accused by Muqtada al-Sadr and others of attempting to generate sectarian conflict by planting bombs in mosques, they were broken out of the Iraqi jail by the British military before they could be tried.

Mourning After Muharram

[Edit: March 4, 2012] The below piece is based on a few interviews and personal observations. It lacks the political context in which sectarian violence escalated in the 1980s, namely, the state's sectarian agenda and foreign involvement. It also gives the impression that the landscape of Sunni-Shia relations radically changed in the 1980s. To some extent it did, particularly, if one focuses on the expansion of Jihadist madrassas by the Zia regime. But in other ways, this landscape remained unchanged. Consider the Ashura blast of December 2009. While it indicated the confluence of local, national, and international forces behind sectarian violence, it also showed continued coexistence (and shared practices) among the Sunnis, Bohras, Twelver Shias, and Christians. I quote an excerpt from my post on the Ashura blast below:

"For one, consider the background of people killed in the Ashura blast: according to one report 15 of the 50 killed were Sunnis, two Bohra Shias, and one Christian [the rest were Twelver Shias]. Anyone familiar with the ground reality in Pakistan knows that Muharram processions are widely attended by Muslims from diverse sectarian background, and at some places, even non-Muslims also participate. Thus the processions are not an exclusive tradition of Shias, contrary to how it is framed in the international news media. They are for all those who want to commemorate the noble sacrifice of the grandson of the Holy Prophet, Imam Hussain. However, the reductive representation in the international news media further distorts the image of Sunni-Shia differences in the mind of general viewers: An attack on Muharram procession is automatically seen as an attack on "Shias by Sunnis" in news and analysis."

Contrast also the perspective on MQM's politics shared below to these posts: 2009 Ashura Blast, The Specter of Talibanization, Debilitating Conditions in Karachi.
----------

Mourning After Muharram
Mahim Maher

Source: The Friday Times, March 19-25, 2004 - Vol. XVI, No. 04

Ever since Dr Ali’s name appeared on a Shia hit list printed by the eveninger Riyasat six to seven months ago, a police mobile unit has accompanied him when he goes to read marsiyas. “I never reveal my full name at the hospital where I work and I’ve asked the people who organise the marsiyas not to mention it either,” he says. “But I never allow the mobile unit to follow me to my doorstep. I don’t want this fear to completely take over my life.” His wife stays by his side when he reads in public, petrified that a member of Sipah-e-Sahaba or Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, two anti-Shia outfits banned in 2001 by President Musharraf, will attack her husband. She has never been able to shake the memory of her father’s murder in 1994; he too was famous for reading marsiyas in Muharram.

In addition to target killings, Shias have to contend with organised mass violence against them in the month of Muharram and this year was no exception. Forty-five mourners from the Hazara community were killed and 150 were injured in Quetta’s Liaquat Bazaar on Ashura Day (March 2). This was the third violent attack against the city’s Shias since the brutal attack of last June which left 50 dead. The violence was not restricted to Pakistan; in Iraq more than 170 Shias have been killed this Muharram.

In Pakistan it is estimated that the Shias are the largest minority group comprising 20 percent of the population. Among those there are many who have contributed to the prosperity of the country, such as Syed Amir Ali, Agha Hasan Abidi, Professor Qarar Hussain, Fatima Jinnah, and Shaista Zaidi. And we of course should not forget that the country’s founding father was a Shia. “Mr Jinnah himself requested that the Habibs open up a bank in Bombay in 1942,” says Dr Javed Ameeri, an assistant professor of philosophy at Karachi University. MAH Ispahani was the first ambassador to the US and was put in charge of the industrialisation of Pakistan, and “Raja Sahib of Mehmudabad who had large estates in Awadh funded the Muslim movement.”

Many remember the first major bloodshed in 1963 when extremists killed 118 Shias on Ashura Day in Theri, Khairpur. The Theri massacre was followed by the burning of the Ali Masjid in Ali Basti in Golimar, Karachi in 1978. Sawad-e-Azam Ahle Sunnat, a Sunni outfit, was blamed for the incident.

Fear has visibly filtered through the ranks. Children holding out their hands for tabarukh (benediction) after a small majlis at Thateer Baji’s house in Martin Colony flinch when they hear the distant sound of cracks in the air. Someone asks if it was firing.

“I remember 1983, when a curfew was imposed and our house was attacked,” says Samana, a 29 year-old who has been reading marsiyas since she was a young teenager. She lives in Martin Colony, Karachi, with her parents who came from Lucknow and Khurso Patkapur in Kanpur in 1954. Her father, Manzoor Hussain, now 70, shakes his head. “We never saw such violence in India. No Deobandis, no Wahhabis. When there was a jaloos the Hindus and Sunnis would join us and walk shoulder to shoulder with us,” he says.

Even Dr Ali acknowledges that Muharram was relatively more peaceful in pre-Partition times. “Muslims were a single unit then,” he says. “They were pitted against the Hindus so there wasn’t as pronounced a Shia-Sunni divide as we see today. But even the Hindus used to take part in the jaloos because they found it spiritually inspiring.”

I find myself drawn to Nishtar Park on Muharram 9. I get lost in the crowd at Khurasan after ziarat in the women’s section. There is a swish swish from the left where they are washing down the white marble floor with large brooms and a stream of water and blood courses past my feet. About a thousand men have just performed maatam there. I sidestep the stream and back up against a tight plug of men. There is a delicate, silvery ‘chik chik’ sound in the air. I can’t see the shirtless men in the centre but suddenly the knives swoop over their heads, go down and then come flying up again. Some men, not participants in the maatam, have crawled up on a ledge to gawk.

The crowds are gathering in Nishtar Park where up to 40,000 come to listen to zakirs the likes of Talib Jauhari. There is a booth for lost children, charity stalls, ambulances and medical camps for the mourners who perform maatam. I expected an atmosphere full of fear and doom but the crowds are harmless, with everyone minding their own business. I feel the mood creeping up on me; one of calmness and community. As a Sunni I’ve been told far too many stories against the Shias and I feel slightly ashamed. It is a beautiful night at Khurasan, one steeped in tradition and spirituality.

At Ancholi the entire neighbourhood is bathed in the light of a thousand bulbs. Rangers and police are stationed at each street corner. An 11 year-old scout ushers me through the ladies’ passage. “Zakir-e-Hussain, or the men who lead majlises, don’t just talk about religion,” Reza says as we approach the inside of the imambargah. And I realise that the Zakir is talking about the recent controversy surrounding a television programme which caused offence to members of the Shia community.

We hear much the same at Rizvia where another majlis is in session. All the gates to the neighbourhood houses have been thrown open where anyone can enter and light a candle for Shaam-e-Ghariban. Little children admire the tall velvet alam, or replica of the flag of Imam Hussain, and old men tend to huge degchis of tea, which will be offered to the mourners later.

“I find that Muharram reaffirms my sense of community and identity,” says Amna, a 29 year-old marketing executive, who lives in Defence. “During Muharram you see people who you don’t meet the rest of the year. And while it is true that many mothers keep an eye out for eligible young girls, no one acts on it in Muharram as that would be disrespectful.”

Women and children pour into the Abul Fazlul Abbas North Nazimabad Imambargah where amidst tight security loudspeakers blare nouhas, or elegies for those slain at Karbala. Ali bunds or silver bracelets are being sold outside alongside incense and candles and mourners touch the alam.

This year 303 big and small processions emanated from various parts of Karachi on Muharram 9, 114 of which were Shia and 189 Sunni. On Muharram 10, the authorities granted permission for 324 processions. This is a vast improvement from the early eighties when jaloos were prevented from leaving their neighbourhoods.

“I remember 1983 when the Sawad-e-Azam Ahle Sunnat formed an Eid Milad un Nabi procession that passed the Khurasan Imambargah,” says Reza. “Sunni boys started throwing stones, crying out anti-Shia slogans and insults and broke water tankers which were there for protection.” The Shias protested the attack and staged what Reza calls the most prominent sit-in to date at Numaish which lasted six days. “The second important sit-in just took place this Muharram at Bolton Market near Tower and lasted four and a half hours,” he says.

The agitation in 1983 grew and people’s homes were burnt in Lalukhet and New Karachi where a large number of Shias lived. This forced many to migrate to areas like Ancholi. “It took a year for that to calm down, but Muharram has never been the same in Lalukhet ever since,” Reza says.

Between 1983 and 1987 there was much tension surrounding processions that started in Lalukhet. When a jaloos tried to leave Lalukhet on the Imam’s chehlum in 1985, Shias at Numaish and Nishtar Park vehemently protested. “They said they would take their jaloos to Lalukhet,” he says. “I remember they actually reached Teen Hatti and it became really dangerous because there were 60,000 to 70,000 Shias on one side of the bridge and armed Sunnis on the other side.”

This was the time when the Muttahida Qaumi Movement started to consolidate its position. “I think we began to freely observe Muharram after 1987 or 1988 because the MQM, which wouldn’t tolerate any sectarian divisions in its ranks, ordered its office bearers to walk in front of the processions,” Reza says. “So the very same boys who were ready to kill us in 1983 at Teen Hatti, would be walking with us in the jaloos.”

Unfortunately it was in the mid-eighties that extremist groups like Sipah-e-Sahaba (Millat-e-Islamia), Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Sipah-e-Muhammed and Tehreek-e-Jafria, gathered force. “After 1994 we saw many Sipah-e-Sahaba killings take place,” Reza says. “This was the time when the authorities were engaged in an operation against the MQM. Many of the killings started in Jhang, in Southern Punjab.” In 1985, the founder of the Sipah-e-Sahaba, Haq Nawaz Jhangvi was killed.

“Sectarianism is considered the best solution by many groups,” says Dr Ameeri. “And I predict a massacre of the Shias in the coming months.” He contends that once there is a positive outcome of the India and Pakistan peace process the jihadis who went to Kashmir will have nowhere to go. “All these trained jihadis have tasted blood,” Dr Ameeri says. “And the easiest thing would be to turn on their own.”

More than 17,000 police officials were deployed in Karachi to protect the processions. “I don’t think there will be more Shia killings in Karachi,” one official says. “Many of the leaders of the banned anti-Shia outfits are in jail and it is important to remember there was no Muharram violence in Karachi this year.”

And so while it will be difficult to come to terms with the recent killings in Quetta and Iraq, Shias and Sunnis hope that sectarian violence will not rear its ugly head again.

Source: The Friday Times, March 19-25, 2004 - Vol. XVI, No. 04