"Muslim kids 3 or 4 years old in Toronto are being taught about *beheading* on Youtube", stated a friend. We googled the subject and found it. In today's climate, the video clip is ripe for misunderstanding. It took place at a Muslim school where kids re-enacted part of Shia Muslims' history(Ashura) similar to how Christians re-enact the crucifixion of Christ. Ashura falls on Aug. 8th this year.We had only been in Pakistan for a week. My wife and I with our 2 year old daughter went for a stroll in the bazaar of the town we made our first home. All was going well until we approached a mosque. The doors flung open, people poured out and men were wailing and beating themselves with chains and ropes until their chests and backs bled. Our instinct was to get out of what appeared to be a dangerous situation. What we didn't know was that on this very day, the 10th of the Islamic month of Muharram(Ashura) Shia Muslims commemorate the brutal martyrdom of Hussain, their first leader.
In the West, during Muharram Shias gather at their mosques for potlucks and remember the death of Hussain. We asked one of our friends what they do. "We cry". It all happens within the four walls of the mosque. In the West, people on the outside don't know about this event.
A few years ago I heard a Sunni Muslim give a sermon during Friday prayers at the mosque. According to tradition Muhammed came to Medina and saw Jews fasting on the 10th of Muharram(Ashura). They were doing so in memory of the Children of Israel rescued from Pharoah. So Muhammed fasted that day and told Muslims to fast.
The Sunni-Shia split happened after Muhammed died and there was a dispute over who should be the new leader. Sunnis appointed the new leader(Caliph) but Shias insisted on Hussain, the grandson of Muhammed to be the new leader. There were several battles fought over this issue which ended with Hussain being killed. To this day these two Muslim groups remain distant from each other and sometimes clash. Shias who represent 15% of Muslims focus on their saints. They erect shrines where they go for pilgrimages, believing that the dead saints will intercede to God on their behalf.
Is there something redemptive we can use for witness to Muslims during Muharram? Don McCurry, in the following quote from 'Healing the Broken Family of Abraham: New Life for Muslims' points to a connection between Christians, Jews, and Shia Muslims:
"Shias believe Hussain(martyred at Karbala in A.D. 680) died for his people. In other words, there is in Shia Islam an idea of vicarious atonement. The Shias celebrate this martyrdom during the first ten days of the first month of the Muslim calendar(Muharram) with passion plays re-enacting the suffering and martyrdom of Hussain, which reach a climax on the tenth day of Muharram. As pointed out earlier, the tenth of Muharram corresponds to Ashura, the Jewish Day of Atonement(Yum Kippur)."
Shia Muslims are responsive to the suffering Messiah. Isaiah 53 is a good starting point for discussions.
Lord Jesus, we pray that we would be instruments of comfort and hope especially for the Shias around the world who remember their first leader but also suffer from persecution from within their religion. Amen.
