Stop Attacking Azadari

Azadari and julus-e-aza has been an important part of keeping alive memory of the Supreme Sacrifice by grandson of the Holy Prophet of Islam (sawas). In recent history these very julus-e aza were the catalyst for the Islamic Revolution of 1979, and the annual gathering at Karbala, that was again in millions on this Ashura , show the importance of the occasion for Muslims.

Renowned religious scholars have stressed the importance of Muharram rituals, including julus-e-aza. Imam Khomeini (ra) said very clearly in his will, "We must keep this up, for this is one of the signs of faith. Let no one in the name of modern thinking and intellectualism deceive you into believing that weeping and mourning over the tragedy of Karbala is useless. "

It is obvious that the arrogant powers that fear a surge of Islamic revival and see the collapse of their materialistic systems are out to attack the revolutionary spirit of Islam, which is best epitomized by Karbala. And the best public display of the memory of Karbala is the julus-e-aza.

After their failure to curtail azadari through bullets and bombs, agents of arrogant powers are now out to attack azadari intellectually.

In this light, the utterances of Pakistani Interior Minster Malik, and anti-azadari utterances of pseudo intellectuals Orya Maqbul Jan and Mujibur Rehman Shami on Pakistani TV channel Express News are not at all surprising, and may just be the beginning of an orchestrated campaign to restrict azadari rituals on behalf of their masters.

We condemn the stance of Malik, who predicted (thus covertly threatened) violence against azadars, but was unable to stop it, as is his responsibility as Interior Minister. Even after major acts of anti-azadar violence he continued repeating his advice for curtailment of azadari.

We also condemn the action of Express TV channel in falsifying the history and current status of azadari through pseudo-intellectuals Orya Maqbul Jan and Mujibur Rehman Shami in the program Column Kaar of 2nd January 2010. It was wrongly claimed that julus e azdari has its roots in the Hindu festivals of Dasehra and Diwali, and has no place in Islamic sharia, and that no julus e aza take place in Iran and elsewhere but the Indo-Pak sub-continent. These are blatant lies: azadari is a practice that has been sanctioned by the infallible Imams (as) and julus-e azadari were the source and basis of the Islamic Revolution that overthrew the imperialist agent Raza Shah. Imam Khomeini (ra) willed for the continuation of these rituals. After the ouster of Saddam, Karbala has witnessed the biggest-ever gatherings in the world on the occasions of Ashura and Chehlum.

Bomb blasts, firing and these verbal attacks have not and shall not remove Muslims from the path of reviving the spirit of Karbala. And it is Muslims from across the sectarian divide who attend these rituals as is evident from the fact that the martyrs of this years Karachi Ashura procession include the 6-year old son and 13-year old niece of Geo anchor Faheem Siddiqui.

We condemn the uncalled for attacks on azadari by Malik and Express News channel, and demand the following:
1. Resignation of Malik, or his removal by the Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani, himself an azadaar
2. Public distancing of itself by Express channel from utterances of Orya Maqbul Jan and Mujibur Rehman Shami
3. Removal of Orya Maqbul Jan from the panel of Express media group columnists
4. Providing equal time on Express News channel to a religious scholar of substance to explain the importance and necessity of julus e azadari

Pending these actions, we shall continue to condemn these actions through the forums of julus and majalis available to us, and to BOYCOTT LAKSON GROUP, the owners of Express TV channel whose brands in Pakistan include McDonalds, CyberNet, Express Newspaper and TV channels, Colgate-Palmolive, Brite, Max, Bonus, Tetley tea, Tang, Titan watches, Century Paper and Century Insurance.

Labbaik Ya Hussain (as)!