Shia Muslims Hold Rally of Peace and Support

(Originally published on Oct. 10, 2016) DEARBOORN, MI — In celebration of the holy day of Ashura, thousands Shia Muslims marched peacefully Sunday and then gathered at Ford Woods Park to celebrate and remember the battles of Imam Hussain. This was 4th annual rally organized by the Ashura Project, a Dearborn-based group that promotes the holy day.

In a statement, organizers for Sunday's procession said it was "done in the footsteps of Hussain, to publicly express their opposition to oppression in all its forms, regardless of who the perpetrator is...to demand justice and an end to all oppression ... lending its voice to the voiceless."

Participants and speakers at the rally said the message resonates today in battles against modern-day tyrants and terrorists. ISIS and other extremist groups were strongly condemned at Sunday's rally.

"The message of Islam is to spread peace, but some like ISIS and all these terrorists have their own agendas," Hussein Berro said told the Detroit Free Press. With ISIS in the news often, he said he hoped to send a message that Islam is about peace. "They hijack Islam. The Quran says, whoever kills one soul it's as if he's killed the entire humanity. That's how much Islam appreciates the life of a human being. These people do not represent Islam ... We're the true Islam."

» For more on this, go to the Detroit Free Press.
Photo by Tomoaki INABA via Flickr Commons