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The other important aspect of Imam Hussain’s speech, in my humble opinion is that in his entire speech he does not mention Islam. In my humble opinion, Imam Hasan does this very consciously as in his view, the incident of Karbala was not the defence of Islam alone. The Imam had the confrontation between the truth and the evil in all the ages to come in mind because dictatorship is a curse that the followers of any religion in any society and in any age might be inflicted with. The curse might not be limited to the Muslims. That was the reason that when the Imam raised his voice against dictatorship, he did not confine it within the circle of Islam but he was setting the precedent of a battle which the human race might have to fight in any society and in any age to come. He also had the belief that in the fight against the dictatorship, merely the weapons of war would not be of any use but the spirit of sacrifice would be the most effective strategy. Hadhrat Hussain not only attained victory over the dictatorship of his time by sacrificing his life but also presented a unique way of fighting against dictatorship in the times to come that is still valid. --Zafar Agha
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| Lesson from Karbala: The call for the battle against dictatorship is still valid | |
By Zafar Agha (Translated from Urdu by New Age Islam Edit Desk) “Don’t you perceive that the truth does not reign now? Don’t you see that nobody is ashamed of his sins and wrongdoings? The true believer is one who persists on the path of truth and is present before the Almighty God without any fear. For me, there is martyrdom, not death because to live under oppression is a matter of shame and indignity.” These are the excerpts of the speech delivered by Hadhrat Hussain before his relatives and companions on the tenth night of Muharram. After that he had put out the lamp and said to them, “ Those who agree with my views can stay with me to attain martyrdom along with me and those who do not can go in the darkness of night (unnoticed). I am presenting this excerpt of the Hussaini speech because it has the same relevance today as it had fourteen years ago when Hadhrat Imam Hussain had delivered it under the seige of the Yazid’s army. The most important aspect of this speech is not that Hadhrat Imam prefers death to life for the survival of truth because this aspect of Hadhrat Imam’s martyrdom has been discussed since the tragedy of Karbala occurred. In my humble opinion, the universal significance of the speech lies in two other points in it. Firstly, the tone of Hadhrat Imam’s speech possesses great importance. The merit of the speech is that its tone is very democratic. In other words, Hadhrat Imam is not inviting his relatives and companions to embrace death. He is only stating a universal truth which every individual has accepted since day one and will do till eternity and the universal truth is that whenever truth faces a crisis, merely raising one’s voice is not enough, but if necessary one should not hesitate to even lay down his life to protect the truth. This aspect of the martyrdom of Hadhrat Imam Hussain has been pointed out before but the his democratic temperament which is evident in the excerpt probably has not been discussed before. In this speech Hadhrat Imam Hassain is not asking anyone to lay down his life along with him for the sake of truth. He is stating only two points: Firstly he is saying that the truth is in danger in the age he is living and that a true believer should be in search of truth in these circumstances. Then about himself he says that in these circumstances, death is synonymous with martyrdom and tolerating tyranny in silence is shameful. After this he permits his relatives and companions to leave him at the mercy of Yazid’s army and go. In Imam’s act there is no pressure on anybody. Neither there is any request to anybody to help him in his defense of truth. He is only stating the situation and that he is willing to sacrifice his life to defend the truth. In other words, he is giving every one present there the democratic right to decide for himself. This democratic way of life was envisaged by Imam Hussain in an age 1400 years ago when the democratic way of life was simply not possible. By giving the democratic rights to people 14 centuries ago to take their own decisions showed that if the common issues are resolved in a democratic way, then the human beings can survive the Yazidi or tyrannical rule. The most important aspect of Imam Hussain’s sacrifice was that he was fighting against the dictatorial rule of Yazid. His fight or opposition was on the ground that any ruler cannot be allowed to seek allegiance of people by force and if he does so he will be called a dictator and his rule will be a dictatorship or autocracy. The opposition of the oppression and tyranny under such dictatorship or autocracy will be truth and it is better to lay down one’s life in such opposition. In other words, the purpose of Imam Hussain’s martyrdom is the opposition of dictatorship in every age. But no opposition should be in a dictatorial manner ( as is being done in the form of terrorism today) as the dictatorship of the time can be fought better on democratic principles. Imam Hussain’s belief in this point of view was so firm that though he impressed the significance of martyrdom on his relatives and companions on the night of Aashura, he did not pressurize anyone to embrace martyrdom along with him. If he too had adopted the same dictatorial attitude as the Yazid had, the difference between Yazid and him would have been blurred. That is the reason; Imam Hussain is respecting the democratic values in his struggle against dictatorship till his martyrdom. The other important aspect of Imam Hussain’s speech, in my humble opinion is that in his entire speech he does not mention Islam. In my humble opinion, Imam Hussain does this very consciously as in his view, the incident of Karbala was not the defense of Islam alone. The Imam had the confrontation between the truth and the evil in all the ages to come in mind because dictatorship is a curse that the followers of any religion in any society and in any age might be inflicted with. The curse might not be limited to the Muslims. That was the reason that when the Imam raised his voice against dictatorship, he did not confine it within the circle of Islam but he was setting the precedent of a battle which the human race might have to fight in any society and in any age to come. He also had the belief that in the fight against the dictatorship, merely the weapons of war would not be of any use but the spirit of sacrifice would be the most effective strategy.Hadhrat Hussain not only attained victory over the dictatorship of his time by sacrificing his life but also presented a unique way of fighting against dictatorship in the times to come that is still valid. But unfortunately, the Islamic world today is swamped by dictators. Kingdoms and military dictatorships are at the helm. Probably that is the reason behind the backwardness of the Muslims the world over. The voice of Muslims has become a cry in the wilderness not only in the international arena but in the domestic level as well. On the contrary, the countries that run on democracy are progressing and the people there are happy. That’s why the message of Hussain is as much effective for the Islamic world today as was in the dictatorship 14 centuries ago. Therefore, merely shedding tears on the martyrdom of Imam Hussain is not a desirable act but it is more important to act on his message by realizing its significance. URL: http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamUrduSection_1.aspx?ArticleID=3871
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10:04 PM
Moderate Islamist here
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