RNA – In an exclusive interview with Rasa News Agency, Hujjat al-Islam Javad Mojtahed-Shabestari, a representative of the people of West Azerbaijan province in the Assembly of Experts, explained that balanced mourning ceremonies cannot be secular and said, “If a mourning ceremony wants to move towards the goals of Imam al-Husayn and follow him, it cannot have a tendency toward secularism.”
Emphasizing that a mourning ceremony that seeks to fulfill the goals of Imam al-Husayn cannot be indifferent to the issues of the day faced by society and the world and added, “We must suppose that if Imam al-Husayn was present at this time, would he be indifferent to this world and the issues that are going on and not rise to justice for the oppressed people of Palestine and Yemen? Obviously, he never kept silent about these things.”
Referring to the fact that according to religious orders, a true Muslim mustn’t be indifferent to defending the oppressed, stated, “A speaker who considers his mourning ceremony to be attributed to Imam al-Husayn, must explain the goals of Imam al-Husayn and explain the uprising of Ashura to society.”
Hujjat al-Islam Mojtahed-Shabestari stating that one of the goals of Imam al-Husayn was to enjoin the good and forbid the wrong, he said, “Basically, enjoining the good and forbidding the wrong means that we mustn’t be indifferent to the problems surrounding us and remain silent. The meaning of enjoining the good is that a Muslim must react to what is going on in his own society and other societies.”
The teacher in the Islamic Seminary argued that there must not be secular mourning ceremonies in an Islamic society and noted, “Unfortunately, there may be mourning ceremonies that are not responsive to the problems of our society and other societies and remain indifferent in the face of oppression and the defence of the oppressed and only talk about the tragedy of Ashura. The work of these mourning ceremonies will certainly not gain the satisfaction of God and the Ahlul-Bayt.”
He stated, “A balanced Islamic mourning ceremony must adapt the dimensions of the uprising of Ashura to the problems of today and take the uprising of Ashura as a model in order to combat oppression and the arrogant powers of the world.”
Hujjat al-Islam Mojtahed-Shabestari referred to the damages caused by secular mourning ceremonies and said, “Such mourning ceremonies sometimes cause some people who don’t have the necessary knowledge to have incorrect interpretations of the uprising of Imam al-Husayn and describe religion only in the realm of the individual and defective relationship with God and cannot explain the relationship between religion, society and politics.”
In conclusion, he said, "In contrast, the mourning ceremonies which are revolutionary and based on the objectives of the uprising of Ashura, can guide society towards the ideals of the Islamic Revolution by explaining the truth of the movement of Imam al-Husayn.”
Rasa News Agency
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