نکات برگزیده

Oppression In The Name of Islam

If you think ISIS has only been around for the past couple of years, it’s because you were never taught about the story of Karbala. Hussein was fighting the same ideology almost 1400 years ago. He refused to pledge allegiance to Yazid and his father, who murdered, tortured, raped, and oppressed people in the name of Islam. In reality, they didn’t follow any of the pillars of Islam, nor did they care about the fundamental institutions of society that held people together no matter their culture, race, or religion. Sound familiar?

Was it not for Hussein’s stand, Islam would have been a dead religion long ago (sorry, bigots and Islamophobes). For a long time, this stand against injustice kept Muslims safe and well. Unfortunately, ISIS, AL-Qaeda, Saudi Arabia, whatever you want to call them, had enough and decided to tarnish that image.

Their first victims? The followers of Hussein - Shia Muslims. In Yemen, Iraq, Bahrain, Kuwait, and other countries with Shia populations, the followers of Yazid’s ideologies launched full on attacks. They eventually upgraded to not only Shias, but Sunnis, Druze, Ahmadies, Christians, and any person who stands in their way of tyrannical rule and widespread oppression.

This week alone, Saudi Arabia massacred hundreds of innocent Yemenis at a funeral, for no apparent reason but power and money. Is that not what Hussein died fighting?