Shi'a Pundit

Devoted to the viewpoint of Islam of Muhammad SAW and Amir ul-Mumineen, Ali ibn Abi Talib SA, in the Shi'a Fatimi Ismaili Dawoodi Bohra tradition.

more martyrs of Husain.

Karbala:

A female suicide bomber attacked a group of Shiite worshippers near a mosque in Karbala on Monday, killing at least 32 people and wounding 51, officials said.

The worshippers were gathered about half a mile from the Imam Hussein shrine, one of the holiest sites for Shiites.

Karim Khazim, the city's chief health official, said the 32 killed included seven Iranians.

Labels: Iraq, karbala

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Lanat upon Yazid.
http://shiapundit.blogspot.com/2007/12/zakir-naiks-comments-on-battle-of.html

Indscribe of An Indian Muslim's Blog writes with outrage over recent comments by Dr Zakir Naik during the Aman Conference in Mumbai. In a nutshell, Naik seeks to portray the martyrdom of Imam Husain AS as nothing more than a political dispute rather than the manifestation of good vs evil, which is the concensus view of most muslims regardless of sect or ideology. Indscribe comments,

It is unthinkable to eulogize and glorify Yazid. Dozens of Muslim organisations and scholars have condemned the statement. Says Hafiz Syed Tahir Ali, 'the battle between Hazrat Imam Husain and Yazid was a fight between good and evil'.

Muslim leaders have questioned how a person like Yazid, who was responsible for the brutal killings of the grandson of Prophet and his family & companions, and the person who led the destruction at Medinah, could be held in such a high esteem by Naik.

Such thinking has nothing to do with Shia-Sunni difference as non-Muslims also take inspiration from the sacrifice of Hazrat Imam Husain. I remember once a guy was expressing similar sentiments about Yazid in a drawing room conversation and all of us were outraged(of course, everybody was a Sunni there).

It seems clear that the only reason for a provocative statement is to provoke. The idea that Shi'a are apostates, innovators, etc is an insidious poison in the muslim polity, much like anti-Semitism in the West, and on occasion it finds an outlet. Hence anything associated with Shi'a must be discredited, even Imam Husain AS and Karbala itself. This is analogous to Holocaust denial on the part of skinhead Nazis and other rightwing Western groups. There is no other explanation for a statement so at odds with the historical record, consensus, and common sense.

Labels: karbala

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Handover in Karbala.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7065923.stm

good news, I suppose:

US forces are to hand over control of security in the Shia province of Karbala to Iraqi troops early next week, US and Iraqi officials say.

US troops will remain in reserve positions to assist if called upon

of course it's not as simple as that:

Iraqi and US military officials have downplayed concerns over rivalries between Shia factions in the province.

"This place is about a struggle for power and influence and there are indeed inter-Shia rivalries where different groups are trying to be in charge and sometimes they revert to violence," said the US commander in the province, Maj Gen Rick Lynch.

The benchmark here is simple: damage to the shrines. I find it hard to believe that any Shi'a sect would willingly damage or put at risk the holy shrines. Of course by their nature they are targets for anyone with a vested interest in promoting sectarian violence... which includes both shi'a and sunni factions alike. On the whole, thouhg, there's not much choice here; iraqis have to take responsibility for the safety of the holy sites. So this is good news.

sigh.

Labels: karbala

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About Shi'a Pundit

Shi'a Pundit was launched in 2002 during the run-up to the invasion of Iraq. The blog focuses on issues pertaining to Shi'a Islam in the west and in the Islamic world. The author is a member of the Dawoodi Bohra Muslim community. Bohras adhere to the Shi'a Fatimi tradition of Islam, headed by the 52nd Dai al-Mutlaq, Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin (TUS).

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