It is Ashura, a holy day for not only Muslim Shia but for all Muslims as well as all the believers if you think about it.
According to the popular Islamic Sunni tradition, Ashura marks the parting of the Red Sea by Prophet Moses, Prophet Joseph was released from prison, Prophet Noah disembarked from the Ark, God forgave the father of all prophets and all mankind Prophet Adam
Nevertheless, some Muslim religious scholars believe that the only thing that happened on that day was the parting of the Red by Prophet Moses as mentioned by Prophet Mohamed “PBUH” while the rest was not explicitly mentioned.
Some believe that rest was added to the day by the Umayyads to downplay what happened on that day and left a black mark that divided the Muslims into two sects: Sunni and Shia.
On that day, the battle of Karbala occurred where the big Umayyad army led by Yazid stood against the army of the few led by no other Imam Al-Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Mohamed “PBUH”
On that day, Al-Hussein was martyred defending what can be described now as the right to elect the ruler aka election of a new caliph through shura (consultation) instead of the hereditary rule.
On that day, the Shia mourn Al-Hussein in their own way.
As Egyptian Muslims, we are considered the Shia of Sunni with our love for Ahl Beit, prophet Mohamed's “PBUH” descendants.
Our Cairo hosts the Shrines of Al-Hussein and Al-Sayeda Zeinab, who were considered along with the rest of Ahl Beit who settled down in the Egyptian capital and were buried there as the Islamic saint patrons of Egypt.
I can’t stop drawing parallels on how the Muslim Arab world has abandoned many people in their quest for freedom and democracy too in the past years above them the Palestinians in Gaza right now just like the majority had abandoned Al-Hussein.
At the same time, I am praying for a miracle to happen to the Palestinians and that they would be saved from the Israeli army in the same way God saved the Israelites.
We look to the story of Moses as a story of belief against tyranny in the same way Al-Hussein and Ahl Beit stood against Yazid.
I speak too much because Ashura comes in a very critical sad time in the Arab Muslim world and it brought too many thoughts and parallels.
On the occasion of Ashura and in a throwback move, here is a video about the Moulid Market in Cairo’s Al-Sayeda Zeinab in 2023 during the sugar crisis.
I was unable to work on or publish the video in October or during Ramadan due to everything happening, but it's never too late.
I apologize for the poor editing and sound quality. It wasn’t the best, and I acknowledge that.
The video was filmed in the El-Sayeda Zeinab district, right at the back of the El-Sayeda Zeinab Mosque and Shrine.
El-Sayeda Zeinab was said to pray to God to bless the people of Egypt for supporting and hosting Ahl El-Beit after Karbala and how she stood against Yazid and his men.
She reportedly offered the following prayer for the people of Egypt in gratitude for the warm reception she received.
"You supported us, may God support you. You sheltered us, may God shelter you. You helped us, may God help you. May God make for you an escape from every distress and a relief from every worry."
Maybe you will know why we consider her and the rest of Ahl Beit as the Islamic Saint patrons of Egypt.
By the way, since Hezbollah and the Houthis are participating effectively in the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian militant resistance groups led by Hamas in Gaza, there has been an ongoing organized sectarian campaign taking Arab social media by storm.
That campaign is not secretly supported by some pro-Zionist Arab accounts from the Gulf specifically from Saudi Arabia and Emirates, unfortunately. Ironically, those accounts are on the same page as the Daesh fanboys’ accounts that attack Hamas and even
For the first time in the modern Muslim world, we are witnessing supporters of Yazid who not only attack Al-Hussein but also dare to mock him. Additionally, we are seeing new figures and accounts claiming to be Shia, such as those addressing Lady Aisha and Umar (peace be upon them all) in a highly disrespectful manner.
It is like the 2006-Lebanese-Israeli war all over again.
Your heroes just killed a dozen Arab kids. They are Israelis and you are about to pay a price.
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