A sorrowful Muharram in Gaza
By our staff writer

The merciless attack on Gaza has coincided with the Ashura mourning ceremonies and the New Year celebrations of the Christian and Islamic worlds.

Ashura, the tenth day of the lunar month of Muharram, is the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (AS) and 72 of his companions in Karbala in 680 CE.

This year’s mourning ceremonies for Imam Hussein (AS), the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (S), and his loyal companions are even sadder as Muslims witness Israel’s relentless bombardment of residential areas in Gaza.

In Karbala, Yazid’s soldiers shot the six-month-old son of Imam Hussein (AS), Ali-Asghar, with an arrow, and he died in the arms of his father. And today, the babies and children of Gaza are being buried under the rubble in their mothers’ arms as a result of the bombs dropped by Israeli jets.

In Gaza, the enemy is showing no mercy, just like the army of Yazid in Karbala.

Today, a defenseless, imprisoned, and starved nation is experiencing attacks by a cruel adversary.

The women and children of Gaza are facing water shortages, just as the family and companions of Imam Hussein (AS) were denied water in Karbala.

The Gaza tragedy even led to the cancellation of New Year celebrations in the Arab world, and millions of citizens in the Christian world were also deeply saddened by the carnage.

In a statement, Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said: “… in New York, outside the Episcopal Church Center, a demonstration took place in front of the Israeli consulate. The demonstrators included Orthodox Jews. All were calling for an immediate end to the attacks in Gaza. I join my voice to theirs and those of many others around the world, challenging the Israeli government to call a halt to this wholly disproportionate escalation of violence…”

The protests and demonstrations of Women for Peace, American Jews for a Just Peace, Nonviolence International, the Middle East Children’s Alliance, and other peace activists show that the Gaza crisis has affected the entire world.

It is hard to hold back the tears when one sees babies who don’t even know what the war is all about being killed.

Viewing the events of the past few days in Gaza, no one should be surprised to hear that the Palestinians are being compared to the greatest heroes of all time and the Israelis are being compared to the worst villains of history.

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