Muslims Unite Against Samarra Bombing: Following the bomb attack on the al-Askari mosque in Samara, Iraq there were several days of sectarian violence between Shia Muslims and Sunni Muslims despite attempts by religious leaders there to calm the situation. The structure of the 10th century mosque was badly damaged and although the bombing caused no direct casualties there were many deaths in the few days that followed.
The bombing was probably carried out by a cell of Al-Qaeda in Iraq although they did not admit responsibility. The US, then occupying Iraq, played down the aftermath of the bombingm claiming the death toll was around 300, but later reports suggest around ten times that number died.
The march was led by children with placards “Sunni & Shia United!!!” , “Have You No Mercy”…
The al-Askari mosque bombing was the start of the First Iraqi Civil War and the mosque was again damaged by a bomb the following year.
A simple equation: Osama + Bush = Al-Qaida
Here is the account of the march and rally in London on Saturday 25 February, 2006 I wrote for My London Diary at the time – will the usual corrections and some of the many pictures I posted.
Muslims beating their breasts on the march,
Muslims Unite Against the Samarra Bombing
British Muslims Stand United Against Terrorism. On the march in Park Lane
Around ten thousand British Shia and Sunni Muslims marched together through London on Saturday 25th in an unusual gesture of solidarity following the bombing of the mosque at Sammara in Iraq, one of the holiest of Muslim shrines, containing the tombs of the 8th and 9th grandsons of Muhammed.
The march was led by women and children, with the men following behind. They carried placards and chanted calling for an end to violence, denouncing the Wahhabis and Al-Qaeda. Many also carried the Iraqi flag in its pan-arab colours of black, white, red, and green.
Starting from Hyde Park, the march went down Park Lane and Piccadilly to end in a rally in Trafalgar Square. Both the plinth and the square below were crowded with demonstrators.
Demonstrators at Trafalgar Square
Despite the seriousness of the outrage at Samarra, the people on the march were peaceful and good-natured, protesting against violence and against the Muslim fundamentalism that aims to create a “Taliban-like extremist state in Iraq.“
Arbaeen Procession in London: On Sunday 15 January 2012 around 5000 Shi’ite Muslims gathered at Marble Arch for London’s 31st annual Arbaeen procession.
The cradle commemorating Imam Husain’s murdered baby son and people at prayer before the procession.
Organised by the Hussaini Islamic Trust UK, the process with its colourful flags, large gold and silver replica shrines and men and women beating their breasts in a symbol of mourning for Imam Husain went along Park Avenue.
Imam Husain, the grandson of Mohammed, was killed with his family and companions at Kerbala in 680AD. Shi’ites celebrate his martydom with 40 days of mourning each year, beginning with Ashura and ending with Arbaeen.
Husain is seen by Shia Muslims as making a great stand against the oppression of a tyrant and representing the forces of good against evil. Although hugely outnumbered he and his companions chose to fight on to death rather than compromise their beliefs.
Their stand remains a symbol of freedom and dignity, and an aspiration to people and nations to strive for freedom, justice and equality. Among many who have admired Husain are Ghandi, Charles Dickens and historians Edward Gibbon and Thomas Carlyle.
Arbaeen also celebrates the return of the wives and families of the martyrs to Kerbala the following year from Damascus where the had been marched as captives.
Millions now attend the annual Arbaeen event in Kerbala although it was banned when Saddam Hussein was in power.
The London procession was first held in 1982 and is the oldest Arbaeen/Chelum Procession of Imam Husain in the west. It was the first annual Muslim procession to take place in Central London and is still one of the larger annual Muslim processions in the UK, attracting Muslims from across the UK.
I arrived at Marble Arch in time for the prayers, recitation, speeches and chanting at the start of the event and to admire the three large gold and silver replicas of the shrines of Karbala; known as Shabbih, over 10 feet high and the largest in Europe,the decorated and blood-stained white horse Zuljana, the cradle remembering his 6 month old child Hazrat Ali Asghar and a ceremonial coffin before the procession began.
Both men and women on the procession beat their breasts – the men with great energy and the women much more decorously as they moved slowly down Park Lane.
The event was continuing when I left hours later.
You can read more about the procession and follow it in my pictures on My London Diary at Arbaeen Procession in London.
October Plenty & Martyrdom of Ali: On Sunday 23rd October 2005 I photographed two very different cultural events in London, October Plenty, a theatrical harvest festival event on Bankside and in the afternoon a Shia Muslim annual mourning event in London to mark the Martydom of Ali, the cousin of the prophet Muhammad. Again I’ll share the text and pictures from My London Diary, with a few corrections to case, spelling etc.
October Plenty: The Lions Part – Globe Theatre & Bankside
The Lions Part is a group of actors who came together in the Original Shakespeare Company but now pursue independent professional careers in theatre and TV etc , but work together on various projects including three regular celebrations on Bankside in co-operation with the Globe Theatre.
One of these is October Plenty, loosely based on traditional English harvest festivities and particularly celebrating the apple and grain harvest.
Characters in the procession include the Green Man (or Berry Man), the Hobby Horse and a large Corn Queen stuffed with fruit and veg. Not to mention a violin-playing Dancing Bear and other musicians and more characters who take part in several plays and performances in various locations.
The day started in front of the Globe Theatre with the bear, then the procession came and led us into the Globe Theatre, where they gave a short performance before we went through the streets to Borough Market where further plays and games were scheduled. I decided it was time for lunch and left at this point.
Hub-e-Ali organise an annual mourning program in London to mark the Martydom of Ali, the cousin of the Prophet Muhammad and the first person to embrace Islam, who was martyred in 660CE in Kufa, Iraq.
Ali was struck by a poisoned sword while leading dawn prayers in the mosque, and died two days later. The event and its consequences continue to divide Muslims down to the present day.
Many (and not only Muslims) have regarded Ali as the model of a just Islamic ruler, working to establish peace, justice and morality.
The procession both marks the killing of Ali and also looks forward to the day when a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad will return to be the saviour of the world.
It also celebrates the duty of the followers of Islam to speak out against oppression and immorality, and to live pious lives in solidarity with the oppressed.
To show their sorrow, those taking part in the mourning parade (Jaloos) recite eulogies about Ali and beat their breasts (Seena Zani.) A coffin (Taboot) is carried as a part of the procession, along with symbolic flags. There is also a long session of recitations before the parade.
Ashura Day & Italian Gardens: On Tuesday January 30, 2007 I came to Hyde Park close to Marble Arch where Shi’ite Muslims were gathering for their annual Ashura Day Procession from there to the Notting Hill Mosque.
The procession celebrates the life and ideals of Imam Husain, the grandson of the Prophet, and mourns his martyrdom at Karbala in Iraq in 61 AH (AD680.) His example in dying for human dignity, human rights and the aims of his faith inspire them in trying to live a good and moral life and they seek Husain’s blessing on their daily lives.
Here is part of the post I wrote in 2007 of the event (with slight corrections):
Several thousand people joined in the annual procession in London, making their way slowly from Hyde Park to the mosque in Notting Hill. Many wore black, and all joined in the chanting of “Ya Husain” accompanied by the beating of drums clashing of sanj (cymbals) and the blowing of trumpets, along with calls to prayer. Those taking part beat their breasts, largely in a symbolic fashion, although there were groups of young men who from time to time swung their arms vigorously.
The Ashura Procession is impressive to see, and everyone taking part seemed to welcome my interest in what was taking place and were happy to be photographed.
The weather was dull and it soon began to get dark; it didn’t help that I had one of my fiddle-fingers technical disaster days, where I kept finding I’d altered the camera settings without being aware of doing so. But it was the kind of occasion where it would be hard not to get some interesting images.
The procession was slow-moving – I wrote “it was moving at a speed that would not have embarrassed a snail” and by the time it reached Lancaster Gate I had taken many pictures and also needed a rest. Dusk was approaching rapidly – and there had been little enough light all day. I went into the Italian Gardens and took a few pictures there in the falling gloom, experimenting a little with flash for some of them.
The Grade II listed Italian Gardens were Prince Albert’s idea, and built for Queen Victoria in 1862 as a part of the gardens of Kensington Palace which had been opened to the public in 1841. Albert had previously created an Italian garden at their Isle of Wight Osborne House.
The gardens were designed by some of the big names of the day. Sir Charles Barry and Robert Richardson Banks designed the Pump House (now a shelter), Sir James Pennethorne the overall layout, and the reliefs and sculptures were by the unfortunately named John Thomas. The first monument in the garden erected in 1862 by public subscription was a statue by William Calder Marshall of Charles Jenner, the pioneer of vaccination against smallpox. The gardens were renovated a few years ago.
The gardens are at the point where the River Westbourne (known by a dozen different names at various times and places) once flowed into Hyde Park. The river comes from various sources in West Hampstead and Brondesbury, flowing through Kilburn and through Hyde Park (where it was dammed in 1730 to produce the Serpentine) and then on through culverts and a large pipe across Sloane Square Station and on into Bazalgette’s Northern Low Level Sewer – with only storm discharges reaching the Thames at Pimlico. These should end with the completion of London’s Super Sewer.
By 1834 the growth of London and widespread adoption of water closets had largely turned the river into a foul sewer and it could no longer be used to supply the Serpentine, The water for this lake and the gardens now comes from three artesian wells bored in Hyde Park.
Martydom of Ali & Cut the Carbon: Two unconnected events in London on Sunday 30th September 2007. I photographed a Muslim festival in Park Lane before making my way to Battersea where a long march organised by Christian Aid around Britain was resting before its final push to the City of London calling for urgent action to cut our carbon emissions. Sixteen years ago it was already clear we needed to do this to avoid climate catastrophe – but our government has clearly not yet got the message with its recent decisions, including giving the go ahead to exploit the Rosebank field.
Mourning the Martrydom of Ali – Marble Arch
Ali Ibn Abi Talib grew up in the household of the prophet Muhammad and was the first male to profess his belief in his guardian’s divine revelation.
Later he married Muhammad’s daughter Fatimah and became a great warrior and leader and also one of the foremost Islamic scholars. He was made Caliph after the previous Calip was assassinated, and was then himself assassinated while praying in the mosque at Kufa, Iraq dying a few days later on the 21st of Ramadan in 661CE.
Revered by all Muslims, he is particularly celebrated by Shia, who regard him as second only in importance to Muhammad, and celebrate his martydom annually, including in a colourful march on the streets of London.
They gathered in front of Marble Arch for a lengthy period of mourning before a ceremonial coffin was carried out and men and women rushed to touch it. People began to beat their breasts, the men with extreme force and the women very much more decorously.
Eventually they formed into a procession and moved off down Park Lane, with much continued mourning and beating of breasts, led by a tall banner about Ali, then the men, followed by the ceremonial bier and finally the by the women with more banners.
Although the men were happy to be photographed, some were concerned that I also photographed the women taking part in this and other similar events. But after putting the photographs from events like this on-line I received e-mails from some of the women in them thanking me for having recorded their participation.
I left the marchers as they moved down Park Lane. The procession continues for some hours, moving slowly and then returning to Marble Arch but I had to go to Battersea.
Cut The Carbon March: Christian Aid – St Mary’s Battersea
The ‘Cut The Carbon March’ organised by Christian Aid called for the UK and the world to take urgent action to reduce the carbon emissions which are leading to a catastrophic global warming which was already threatening the lives and livelihoods of many around the world, particularly in the Global South.
Clearly all countries needed to take urgent action to avoid the growing catastrophe, and countries such as the UK with higher per capita carbon footprints need to take a lead in this as well as helping other less industrialised countries to do so. We have benefited from a couple of hundred years of carbon-dirty industrial growth which has brought to world to the brink.
The marchers, including a number of international participants, had begun in Northern Ireland in July, moving on to Scotland, England and Wales on a thousand mile route through major cities which were listed on the back of the t-shirts worn by the marchers. The march was intended to convince people of the necessity to cut carbon emissions from the UK and globally. As well as marching there were events at their stops on the route, including a visit to the Labour Party conference in Bournemouth where they had met with then Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Many others had joined the core marchers, walking with them for short sections of the route and providing hospitality at churches along the way. They were stopping in Battersea and taking part in an evening service in St Mary’s there before the final day of the march which was to end at St Paul’s Cathedral on October 1st.
I was late and the marchers had arrived at St Mary’s just I few minutes before me and were enjoying a rest in its riverside churchyard. Later some talked about the march and why they had given up their summer to take part in it as it was so vital that the UK and the world take serious action.
We were reminded that some of the world’s lower-lying countries were being threatened by the sea level rise from global warming, with ice-caps melting as a high Spring tide began to flood parts of the churchyard, but fortunately stopped with only a few large puddles at one side. But the sea-level will continue to rise and make some whole island countries uninhabitable as well as large areas of others already subject to flooding.
More recently we are also now seeing the effects of global heating and climate instability clearly in the UK, Europe and North America with record high temperatures, huge forest wild fires and odd weather patterns affecting crop yields. But the fossil fuel companies are still huge lobbyists and contributors to party funds and still our UK government, while paying lip-service to zero carbon in the rather distant future of 2050, continues to pump up the carbon with new coal, gas and oil exploitation. Total madness.
But this was a fine September evening and St Mary’s is a fine listed building and I was pleased yet again to take a tour inside and admire its architecture, fine monuments and modern stained glass windows for both William Blake and Joseph Mallord Turner who knew it well, as well as the riverside views.
