RNA – In an exclusive interview with Rasa News Agency, Ayatollah Sayyed Rahim Tavakol said that one of the functions of the lectures and mourning ceremonies of the solemn month of Muharram are to institutionalize the culture of fighting against oppression and the arrogant powers of the world and said, “One lecture or mourning ceremony cannot go beyond the framework of the goals of Imam al-Husayn and merely deal with the aspect of mourning.”
The representative of the people of Mazandaran in the Assembly of Experts said that one of the characteristics of the uprising of Imam al-Husayn was the struggle against oppression and the command of Enjoining the Good and Forbidding the Wrong and said, “If [a preacher] considers the mourning ceremony which he conducts to be adherent to the message of Imam al-Husayn, he must understand the Imam’s uprising well and know the purpose that Imam al-Husayn carried out his uprising for so that he can continue along his path.”
Ayatollah Tavakol added that mourning ceremonies which are secular and don’t discuss any of the issues of the day aren’t related to the message of Imam al-Husayn and don’t follow his path but rather, the lecturers have taken the path of their own desires.
The revered teacher in the Islamic Seminary of Qom stressed upon the damages caused by the secularized mourning ceremonies and lectures and said, “Along with the oppression, silence in the face of oppression and following the path of falsehood are among the harms which result from secularized mourning ceremonies and lectures. The youth attend these mourning ceremonies and are deceived by their outer appearance and after a while, they are alienated from the issues of the day of society and are also indifferent to the cries and the groans of the oppressed of the world.”
His Eminence arguing that the lack of secularism in the lectures and mourning ceremonies will strengthen the morality of the revolutionary people and said, “When people enter the mourning ceremonies wherein the issues facing society are raised and wherein revolutionary positions are taken, without doubt, they find that Imam al-Husayn is the manifestation of the slogan ‘hayhat minna al-dhillah’ [‘we will never be humiliated’] and they won’t remain silent in the face of the oppression of the oppressors and the arrogant powers of the world and they won’t be indifferent to the groans and cries of the oppressed.”
Ayatollah Tavakol added, “Our Islamic Revolution is fundamentally based on Ashura because this revolution was established so that the people wouldn’t be associated with the oppressors and tyrants and by standing alongside Imam al-Husayn, they wouldn’t surrender to their oppression.”
The month of Muharram commemorates the martyrdom of Imam al-Husayn, the son of the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, Ali ibn Abi Talib, at the battle of Karbala in 680 CE. The tyrant Yazid had declared himself ruler of the Islamic caliphate and ordered allegiance from Imam al-Husayn, who rose against those who acted falsely in the name of Islam. He refused to legitimize the unjust rule of a tyrant.
Rasa News Agency
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