The city of Leicester witnessed the return of the Muharram procession, organized by the Muslim Khoja Shia Ithna-Asheri (MKSI) charity, after a hiatus since 2019.

Muharram holds great significance for Shia Muslims as it marks the first month of the Islamic calendar, during which they commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (AS) and his companions in the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD. The procession commenced from Humberstone Gate, passing through East Gates and High Street, culminating at Jubilee Square.

Procession organizer, Ali Abbas Rajani, said Imam Hussain (AS) was someone whom people can “draw inspiration from.”

He explained that Imam Hussein’s refusal to pledge allegiance to Yazid, who was a leader of the Umayyad Islamic state which Hussain regarded as unjust, and his unwavering commitment to human rights are the reasons why he is revered within the Shia community.

Ali Abbas said: “The procession is simply a reminder. Spreading his values and inspiring others to always give back to society.

“Whether it’s standing for human rights, standing against oppression, feeding the poor, caring for the homeless, loving and nurturing the orphan, helping the neighbor or simply spreading love and compassion. We believe that Hussain (AS) can be someone you can draw inspiration from.

“If everyone right now made even one small positive change in their lives or one small contribution to society because something from Hussain’s (AS) life struck a chord with them, then we would consider that a massive success. In every land and time, for every nation and race, Hussain’s (AS) story provides inspiration and encouragement for people: to become aware of oppression and to take steps, however small, to speak and act against it.”

This was the 32^nd year that the procession has been held in Leicester, however the act of remembrance has been going on for more than 13 centuries across the globe.

Source: The Leicester Mercury

Author: Etin Anwar, Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Published in: Religions, Vol. 15, Issue 6 (June 2024), pp. 706-726

Publication Date: June 6, 2024

Publisher: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), Basel, Switzerland

Abstract:

The Women’s March on 21 January 2017, opened a new social and political landscape for Muslim women to engage in Islamic liberatory activism. I locate Muslim women’s participation in the marches following the 2017 ‘Muslim travel ban policy’ as a site for discovering the link between the politics of resistance and the utility of Islam as a source for liberation. I argue that Muslim women living in minority and post-secular contexts resort to faith as a source of agentival liberation to address the political rhetoric of anti-Islamic sentiments and policies.

The outcome of this research demonstrates:

1. How Muslim women activists challenge the Western narratives of being oppressed and explore the ways they want to represent themselves;
2. How Islam serves as a catalyst for theological resistance and how this enhances the role of Muslim women as moral and spiritual agents in transforming their political and social conditions;
3. How the Islamic liberation in the US context historically intersects with Black churches’ resistance toward White racism; and
4. How Muslim women’s agency as spiritual beings is linked to the promotion of justice in the Western liberatory movements.

Overall, the article shows how Muslim women resort to their spiritual journey and use such narratives to confront unjust political rhetoric and policies.

Keywords: Islamic liberation theology; agency; Women’s March; Justice activism; Islamic feminist resistance

Read the full article HERE.

Source: MDPI