There are two places where it would especially suck, life-wise, having a Shia supremacy: Arabia and Iraq.
In Shi'i belief: There are 14 Infallibles = 12 Imams + Muhammed + Fatima (PBUH's daughter.)
Seven of those are in Iraq, (six, but counting the Mahdi)
The others, with the exception of Ridha, who's in Iran, are in Saudi Arabia.
So, what's the big deal? Okay, the big deal is that the Shia hold a mourning ritual and a birth ritual for each of those 14 dudes, that's about an entire month in the calendar where the whole country would have to galvanize all of its resources to protect and serve the hordes of visitors of the shrine of this Imam and that. Not to mention of course, the roads blocked throughout the city for the on-foot visitors, in short, the entire country would have to shut down.
So just when the supposedly 9 million Shia gathering in Hussein's Arabien at Kerbala dispersed, another ziyara was soon taking place in Najaf (where Ali is) - on top of it all, the ceremony is not related to Ali, but it is actually The Martyrdom of the Prophet. I mean, seriously!
and martyrdom? Gee, the Prophet was murdered? upon research, it seems that I have overlooked another feature of the tapestry of the Nasibi Sunni oppression against Shia, it seems that the Prophet was poisoned by Aisha and Hafsa, so that their parents, Abu Bakr and Umar could undertake the plot to deny Ali the caliphate.
All right, I have already established that Sunnis and Shia have little to claim in the vein of friendship or unity, but dude! I'm all for co-existence, but from a statesman point of view, should the year be completely dedicated to one ziyara after the next? Is that all you have to show for being liberated from Saddam Hussein? Secular Shia MP Iyad Jamal al-Din said that the overwhelming attendance of the Shi'i rituals in 2003 and 2004 was because people were trying to release the pent-up pressure of years where those religious rituals were denied by the Ba'ath. But it's 2008 now and it seems to get bigger than ever, Jamal al-Din himself seem to share my view, he was complaining about the politicization of those flagellation ceremonies and its use by political parties to re-assert themselves, Shia claim it's about establishing identity, but shouldn't that have already taken place now? We get it, you're in power! Thank you very much.
Here's the ِABRIDGED!!!! Shia festivities calendar, looking at it, I guess I should be thankful there are ONLY 7 shrines here. In general, martyrdoms are much more important than births, which are only massively celebrated for the principal Imams (Ali, Mahdi, etc)
10 Muharram: Hussein (Kerbala)
24 Muharram: Al-Askari Shrine Explosion, Samarra
25 Muharram: Zain Al-Abideen (Medina)
7 Safar : Hasan (Medina)
17 Safar : Ridha (Mashhad)
20 Safar : Hussein 40 (Kerbala)
28 Safar : Muhammed (Najaf - should be Medina)
5 Rabi1 : Sakina (Damascus?)
9 Rabi1 : Fatima's Joy [At Umar's Death]
17 Rabi1 : Birth Muhammed & Sadiq (Medina)
8 Rabi2 : B Askari (Samarra)
5 Jamad1 : B Zainab (Damascus)
17 Jamad1 : Fatima (Medina)
20 Jamad2 : B Fatima (Medina)
1 Rajab : B Baqir (Medina)
2 Rajab : B Hadi (Samarra)
3 Rajab : Hadi (Samarra)
25 ٌRajab : Musa al-Kazim (Baghdad) <-Al Aimma Bridge, 2005
3 Shaban : B Hussein (Kerbala)
5 Shaban : B Zain Abideen (Medina)
15 Shaban : B Mahdi + 1991 Rev (Kerbala) <- Sadr/Badr clashes, 2007
15 Ramadan : B Hasan (Medina)
19 Ramadan : Ali, Day 1
21 Ramadan : Ali Martyrdom (Najaf)
8 Shawal: Destruction of Shia Shrines in Arabia by Wahabis, 1920s
25 Shawal : Sadiq (Medina)
11 Qi3da : B Ridha (Mashhad)
7 Hijja : B Baqir (Medina)
18 Hijja : Ghadir (Najaf)
14 comments:
Well... if that-other-sect-whose-name-I-shall-not-mention were able to have amicable relations with Shiism, perhaps Iraq's pilgrimage/tourist industry could flourish?
yes, yes, we are inherently evil. Stop it already.
It's funny, I'm going over my head to prove to you that Sunnis and Shia are religiously hostile and our friend rhussie here thinks it's easy to just kiss up and be friends. Why don't you propose that to the Jews and the Palestinians? let's all kiss up! My god, that's it! Your genius is overflowing!!!!
Look, regardless of the age-old tensions, I'm bitching here about having to spend an entire year weeping and hitting myself ; you should see Baghdad on these occasions, it becomes completely enshrined in black. This is another reason why Shia theocracy is bad for you.
Thank you, fellow Americans, for unleashing this gift upon us.
Abbas,
Okay, I have to agree that from the American point of view there are WAY TOO MANY pilgrimages and religious holidays in Iraq. No wonder, we think, that nothing really gets done there. Actually working now and then might really help. The tramping back and forth from one city to another, the interminable lamentations, the self-flagellations, the real blood and the fake blood, and the tears -- yeah, that would get old fast. Damn, I can hear an American say, this shite happened fourteen hundred years ago! Hello?! Let's at least go to a college football game or Disneyworld and enjoy ourselves.
Oooooh, those dirty Kaffirs.
On the other hand, the Shia ARE the majority in Iraq, and they can do what they want, right? Better if you Sunnis just convert and join the non-stop funeral party. C'mon, Abbas. Get with Ali, man!
Oh-oh, is this a one "heh" or two comment? My irony meter is on the fritz.
Thank you, fellow Americans, for unleashing this gift upon us.
Hee hee. Abbas, I'm reminded of one of those devilishly funny great American novels. This one is called "Wise Blood," by Flannery O'Connor. One of the main characters, a kind of sad-sack, weirdo loser, is so happy about finding a present in his room. The outside of the box says "A Nutty Surprise." Smiling, he opens the package and a fist on a spring pops out and knocks one of his teeth out. Flannery was a religious Christian woman whose dark humor ran deep inside her. The Sunnis have been getting their share of "nutty surprises." The first one was Fat Boy Muqty, who sent a message to his followers today from Iran saying that he's studying real hard at the Shia Community College, where he's taking courses in Instant Fatwas and Sharia for Idiots.
*
Whats wrong with them practicing their religion? They should have the right to visit any place that they feel like it and have the right to take part in any of their religious processions. If every day was a holiday for them, what is it to you, Sunni? Why do the nawasib have a problem with it? You tried to take an impartial stance and say they're wasting state resources. Are they wasting your resources Sunni? Are they forcing you to do anything you don't want to do Sunni? You are 10% of the population, but complain 90% of the time...so take a hint, and stop screwing around, or you will get screwed. Inshallah.
Abbas: "Thank you, fellow Americans, for unleashing this gift upon us."
What? Freedom of religion? Sorry dude. Are you saying all was fine when Saddam had his boot on the uppity Shias' neck and these holidays were verboten?
I do appreciate learning from you about the historic hostility though. For almost five years we've had to hear that there was no hostility between Sunni and Shia, that it's an American creation. You touch on that a bit too, of course, as it's our fault the boot was removed.
Do you really want to stick it to them? I mean, really really? Set up a booth along side a pilgrimage route and sell them Pepsis for 5 USD per bottle. Now that's genius!!
Abbas, dude, I can see how the Shi'a calendar would get to be a pain in Iran where they devote all TV progamming for weeks on end to the weeping for one guy or another. But you just have to KNOW that people are whipping themselves somewhere in Iraq. Heck, are you even IN Iraq? What do you care? You don't think those tourists are helping Iraq's economy? You want to know something worth complain about? Look up the term "blue law".
RhusLancia: "Set up a booth along side a pilgrimage route and sell them Pepsis for 5 USD per bottle. Now that's genius!!"
Certainly. Clever indeed. It's so smart you should do it yourself. I suggest wearing an outfit such as starsN'striped pants and a white T-shirt with the star of David on the back and perhaps one of those "danish cartoons" printed on the front. You know, to show unity and understanding of every point of view; freedom of expression and all that. Pure genius! Let us know how it goes.
I'm all for co-existence
How do you reconcile that claim with your support for terrorism? Is it only some people you are willing to co-exist with?
anonymous: "Certainly. Clever indeed. It's so smart you should do it yourself."
Glad you agree, but I have no problem with Shia or their apparently annoying number of religious celebrations.
How do you reconcile that claim with your support for terrorism?
How do you reconcile this sentence with reality?
Abbas, dude, I can see how the Shi'a calendar would get to be a pain in Iran where they devote all TV progamming for weeks on end to the weeping for one guy or another.
Being a Shi'i in Iran doesn't suck as much as being that in Iraq, in Iran there's only 1 shrine, so not much pain ; here there are 7 shrines, on top of the TV weeping programming, do the math!
mahdi mahdawi,
I understand why you're angry ; look, I have no problem with it from the standpoint that people are free to practice what they believe in, but it's just TOO MANY CEREMONIES! recently, the Sunnis themselves have become rather annoying with the Mawlid (I think they see it as a challenge to the Shia ceremonies), and that should not be a problem too but if you have been to Baghdad when Ashoura or Musa al-Kadhum happens you will understand: the roads are closed, life breaks down, you have to go to your area walking, the whole city is filled with black rags, if it's one, two, three days a year - that's okay, but as you can see it's just too many ceremonies. Moreover, the problem with a religion-inclined government is that it feels like everything and everyday. I think it should be less focused upon, that's all.
If the government was secular, it would confine these ceremonies (which I think are not compulsory anyway in Shi'i doctrine?) where it should be: religious places of worship ; not the whole freakin' country.
I realize, though, that there isn't much to do about it anyway, beliefs are hard to change for any religion, I'm just ranting harmlessly here.
Finally, we are 20%, not 10% and yes we do complain all the time cuz we were in power and we lost it, we can't help it :DDDDDD
I don't mind having a Shia government if it's secular ; that doesn't seem to happen anytime soon though.
Here's hoping for the future.
"It's so smart you should do it yourself. I suggest wearing an outfit such as starsN'striped pants and a white T-shirt with the star of David on the back and perhaps one of those "danish cartoons" printed on the front. You know, to show unity and understanding of every point of view; freedom of expression and all that. Pure genius! Let us know how it goes."
:lol: :lol:
No one understands what the heck is going on in this country.....
COMPULSORY holidays in Iraq because of Shiite religious practices: 80 days/yearly.
Add to that 2 weeks of Eid, & approximately 110 secular holidays, and you have more than 180 days yearly where every school, university, government & private office is closed.
Oh yes, and that includes BANKS (just a couple of millions lost, no big deal if you're not Iraqi). I don't assume banks are closed ANYWHERE in the world for 1 week, not even in the Holy Shiite republic of Iran.
and Abbas, shame on you!! You must a Nasibi (of the agnostic sect lol), leave the ignorant majority of your people to "innocently" practice their religious freedom by wasting +6 months yearly of OUR time, not only theirs!
Makes perfect sense if you're trying to rebuild a country, moo? lol
Sheikh Saad had suffered from colon disease, which led to speculation that he would refuse the Emirship. A declaration in November 2005 refuted such speculation, and Sheikh Saad took office as Emir on 15 January 2006 upon Sheikh Jaber's death.[5][6] However, Sheikh Saad attended Jaber's funeral in a wheelchair, and his continued health problems caused some to question his ability to rule. Some members of the Kuwaiti parliament expressed concern that Sheikh Saad would not be able to deliver the two-line oath of office, scheduled for 24 January 2006
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On 24 January 2006, the Kuwaiti parliament voted Saad out of office, moments before an official letter of abdication was received. The Kuwait Cabinet nominated the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah to take over as Emir as expected
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