Posts
Photos: Ashura day procession in Nasarawa, Nigeria
Photos by: Salihu Uthman
Photos: Ashura procession observed in Zaria, Nigeria
Mourning gathering at Husainiyyah baqiiyatullah Zaria on Saturday the 24/10/15 led by Sheikh Zakzaky. He explained that the issue of Imam Husain (A) is the making of God, which is why it will continue to flourish upto the time of Farj since the time the Imam made the call over 1400 years ago. Sheikh Zakzaky cleared misconceptions and fabrications of Umayyads regarding the day of Ashura.
Photos: Muslims, Christians participate in Ashura procession in Kaduna, Nigeria
Ahlul Bayt News Agency – Muslims and some section of the Christian community have on Saturday commemorated the Day of Ashura by way of a procession in the city centre.
The tenth day of Muharram in the Islamic calendar is set aside by the Muslim world to observe the day of Ashura and mourn the brutal killing of Imam Hussain, grandson of the Holy Prophet of Islam, and some of the Prophet’s family members by despotic Yazid son of Mu’awiyyah in the plain of Karbala, Iraq, 61 years A.H.
There had been daily mourning sessions, which culminated in a large procession on Saturday that drew about hundreds of thousands of participants.
The procession which took off in the morning from Maiduguri Road Juma’at mosque amidst tight security, passed through Ahmadu Bello Way and Kano, and terminated at Kwanar Chanchangi in Tudunwada.
Among the participants were a delegation from the Christian community led by Pastor Yohanna Y. Buru. They include: Reverend David Abaya, Pastor JoelZego, Pastor Maxwell Sanda, Mr. Adun A. Adua and Pastor Muhammad Abdullahi.
In an interview, Pastor Yohanna Buru said, it was a religious obligationfor the Christian community to commemorate with Muslims over the monumental tragedy that befell the Household of the Prophet of Islam.
“It is expedient and necessary for us to be with our Muslimsimes of joy colleagues in time of sorrow, just as commemorate with them in times of joy. Moreover, the people killed were those Luminaries in Islam the Prophet Muhammad ordered Muslim faithful to strictly adhere to. We therefore extend our sincere condolence to the entire Muslim Ummah on this day.”
During the terminal speech, Ameer of the Kaduna zone of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, Shaikh Muhammad MukhtarSahabi said, Ashura is not exclusively observed by the Shi’a but the entire Muslims, because Imam is the grandson of the Prophet of Islam.
He pointed out that, love for the Household of the holy Prophet (Ahlul Bayt), as prescribed by Allah is a religious obligation, while disdain for their enemies and their killers is also a religious duty. “You cannot love Imam Husain and at the same time love those who killed him. It is impossible! You should either love Husain and dislike his enemies, or love killers of Husain and dislike Husain. There is no two-way about this issue.”
He therefore called on the Muslim Ummah to show practical love for the Infallible Progeny of the holy Prophet, as amplified and exemplified by Shaikh Ibraheem Zakzaky, through whose call people are now being more aware.
“In the path of the Ahlul Bayt (AS) genuine religion lies, on their path injustice and tyranny is wiped out”, he added.
Similar procession were also held in major cities across Nigeria.
Procession of Ashura peacefully observed in Peshawar
PESHAWAR, Pakistan – Ahlul Bayt News Agency – After peaceful observance of the Ashura days, police and law enforcement agencies took a sigh of relief and appreciated the people cooperation in this regard.
With the commencement of Muharram, contingents of police, Frontier Constabulary (FC) and Frontier Corpse (FC) were deployed on sensitive places particularly Imambargahs, big mosques, and Peshawar based consulates of different countries, shopping centres and bazaars.
Extraordinary steps were taken for Ashura processions, and even extra contingents from other districts were called to Peshawar to avert any untoward incident in the city.
The lower cadre police forces performed duties more then 18-hour a day till 10th of Moharram, said a constable wishing anonymity who performed duty on Saddar Road.
“We are thankful to the residents of the city who also fully cooperated for cooperating with the police in security measures at various points of Shia procession.
The ninth and 10th of Muharram always remain sensitive in Peshawar as a large number of the Shia mourners even from some other localities come to Peshawar to participate in the mourning processions and self-flagellation gathering.
/129
Bangladesh police arrest 3 involved in Shia shrine blasts; ISIS Not link to it
Ahlul Bayt News Agency – The Bangladeshi police has arrested three people in connection with the bomb blasts here targeting Shia community that claimed the life of a 12-year-old boy in an attack claimed by ISIS.
“Three men were detained after the blasts and were handed over to the detective branch for questioning,” Dhaka police’s assistant deputy commissioner Sanjib Kumar Roy told reporters. Police filed a case over the bomb explosions under the tough Anti Terrorism Act, accusing unidentified miscreants.
The Bangladesh police arrested a string of Opposition officials on Sunday, a day after the bombing of the country’s main Shia shrine killed one person and left nearly 80 wounded.
ISIS claimed responsibility for the rare attack on the Shia community in the capital which occurred as thousands gathered for the annual Ashura procession.
But home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal denied the jihadist group was behind Saturday’s blast, which came just weeks after an Italian aid worker and a Japanese farmer were shot dead — attacks also claimed by ISIS.
“We want to say it clearly that ISIS does not exist in Bangladesh,” the minister told reporters. “We have not found any basis or anything concrete regarding the (ISIS) claim.”
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has blamed the Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its main Islamist ally Jamaat-e-Islami for the foreigners’ murders.
The police said they detained overnight a former BNP lawmaker in Dhaka and several senior officials from both parties, adding that this was related to previous unrest and unconnected to Saturday’s blast. “He (the BNP lawmaker) was arrested under the country’s anti-terrorism laws,” inspector M. Kamruzzaman said.
A BNP spokesman accused the police of using the blast and foreigners’ murders as an excuse to launch a fresh opposition crackdown.
“It is unfortunate that they’re using these attacks as a pretext to crack down on the Opposition,” BNP spokesman Asaduzzaman Ripon said, adding that over a hundred Opposition activists have been arrested in recent weeks.
Mr Kamal said the culprits planned such an attack under a well drawn up design coinciding with the Shia Muslim mourning festival of Ashura so that the incident could be attributed to the ultra Sunni ISIS.
“For now, I would also like to tell you briefly that all the three incidents, the murder of the two foreign nationals and the blasts at the Husseini Dalan, are interlinked… The same group of people masterminded the attack to create instability and discredit our (ruling Awami League) government,” the Mr Kamal said. The police said three bombs were hurled at the procession joined by more than 20,000 people at around 1:30 am at Huseni Dalan, an important 17th century centre of learning for the Shia community.
They said it was believed to be the first attack on the Shias in the Sunni-dominated Bangladesh, which has witnessed an increase in violence in 2015 claimed by the ISIS.
Hours after the attack, the US-based Site Intelligence Group that monitors militant threats reported that the ISIS claimed the responsibility for the bombing on the Shia shrine.
The attack came hours after a suicide bombing at a Shia Muslim mosque in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province killed at least 12 people.
/129
Iran condemns Saudi court’s death sentence against Sheikh al-Nimr
Ahlul Bayt News Agency – Iran warned on Sunday that the execution of leader of pro-democracy protests, Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, would cost Riyadh dearly, shortly after Saudi court confirmed the death sentence against the Shiite cleric.
One of Shekh Nimr’s brothers said that the death sentence was confirmed against the prisoned cleric.
“After the confirmation of Sheikh Nimr’s death sentence by the Court of Appeal and then the Supreme Court, his life is in the hands of King Salman who can endorse the sentence or suspend the execution,” said Mohammed al-Nimr.
He warned his brother’s execution “could provoke reactions that we do not want, as Sheikh Nimr had supporters in the Shiite areas of the Islamic world”.
Among those sentenced to death, “three, including my son Ali, were minors at the time of arrest” for involvement in pro-democracy protests that erupted in the Eastern Province in the wake of the Arab Spring, Sheikh Nimr’s brother told AFP.
The case of Ali al-Nimr, in particular, has aroused strong reactions around the world, with many asking the Saudi authorities to grant the young Shiite a stay the execution.
For its part, Tehran warned that the Saudi move could have dire consequences.
Deputy foreign minister for Arab and African said that if Riyadh will venture and carry out the unjust verdict, it will cost the Saudi regime very dearly.
Abdollahian who was reacting to the reports on near future execution of the prominent clergy said that the reports in that respect cause very deep concern, IRNA news agency reported.
Meanwhile, the Iranian diplomat said that the Saudis have still not offered any convincing reply to the existing questions on Mina disaster, which led to death of thousands of pilgrims from some 24 Islamic countries.
‘The series of catastrophic events in this year’s Hajj pilgrimage coupled with the incompetent military invasion of Saudi Arabia against the innocent Yemeni people prove that the conditions in that country are inappropriate,’ he said.
Abdollahian added that the provocative and tribal approaches adopted by the Saudi regime against its own citizens, too, will not be to the benefit of the Riyadh regime.
“The Saudi officials have unfortunately resorted to adventurist policies against both their own citizens and the nations in other regional countries, while they are expected to act justly and based on sound and rational policies,” emphasized the Iranian deputy FM.
/129