TEHRAN - A Lebanese political researcher says that since the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, the U.S. has failed to realize its military ambitions in the region.

"The Husseini thought is embodied in armed confrontation, sacrifices, and achieving victories," Hadi Kobeisi tells the Tehran Times.

"Since the victory of the Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979, based on the Husseini teachings and the Karbala experience, America has failed to achieve any military victory against the forces of resistance."

Stressing that the model present by Imam Hussein inspires Iranian Revolution, Kobeisi adds, "This model allows us to imagine what we can do for humanity and for divine goals on the social level."

Following is the text of the interview:

Q: How do you see Arbaeen's impact on Muslims' political life?

A: The revolution of Imam Hussein, peace be upon him, introduced us to a perfect model and a unique experience of sacrifice and generosity.

“Through Ashura, we can touch the core of the Sharia by our hearts, minds, feelings, and conscience.”This model allows us to imagine what we can do for humanity and divine goals on the social level.

 It also shows us the level of sacrifice that a person can offer to please God Almighty on the individual level.

It is impossible to be successful at the political level without this individual level, which is deeply intertwined.

 With this culture, we can face the significant challenges that stand in the way of the liberation of the oppressed people. Thus every free honorable person who follows the divine teachings must stand by the powerless people.

The material capabilities will be less than those of the significant and tyrannical powers, and therefore we inevitably need a strategy to confront all forms of superiority, and here comes the Husseini School as a road map in the path of salvation.

Q: What is the secret of the immortality of Imam Hussein's name while he had no media to promote his message?

 A: Whoever experiences Karbala and opens his heart and for one time towards divine values and remember Imam Hussein and his family in the Karbala desert will taste a special spirituality and a unique psychological, emotional connection with eternity that is indescribable in the world.

Therefore, longing, yearning and love become deeply rooted in the hearts and in the minds, where the lovers automatically rush to cherish and remember Hussein's memory because these rituals lead to the rebirth of the soul every year and on every occasion.

We also do not lose sight of the role of visiting the holy shrines that have a special impact in building that deep moral bond with the Imam on the lovers of Ahl ul-Bait.

Q: What is the impact of the Husseini uprising on the resistance movements in Islamic countries and the world in its entirety? What lessons are learned from Imam Hussein's uprising?

A: The Husseini ideology is the core of these movements; it has functioned as their spirit, emotional, and intellectual essence of resistance movements.

These movements are different and various expressions of Karbala's experience, and they are a reproduction of that event, but in different forms and in another time.

With regard to Ashura's lessons, there is an important word for Imam Khomeini, who said, "it is Muharram and Safar that has kept Islam." 

I think that Imam Khomeini's remark has not been entirely conceived because Ashura is an incident full of meaning and values; it is an embodiment of Sharia and the core of religion on the stage of history. 

Through Ashura, we can touch the core of the Sharia by our hearts, minds, feelings, and conscience, where divine concepts and values can be conveyed in the moments of Muharram mourning ceremonies.

 The resistance movements originally relied primarily on sacrifice and fighting oppression without looking at the direct results because their central and main reference was in Karbala.

With its achievements, values, and success in resisting arrogance, this vision was extended to large areas of the Islamic world that were not familiar with the Ashura culture.

But Husseini's message was transferred all around the Islamic world due to those successes and the raising Husseini strategy in the face of arrogance. As a result of this culture and attitude, the Islamic world has witnessed successive victories.

Q: Do you think Western powers are able to undermine Husseini's ideology that feeds resistance movements?

A: The Husseini thought is embodied in armed confrontation, sacrifices, and achieving victories. Since the victory of the Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979, based on the Husseini teachings and the Karbala experience, America has failed to achieve any military victory against the forces of resistance.

But we shouldn't lose sight of that the soft penetration through people who are disguising behind the rituals and religious superficial and raising the banner of Hussein while their purpose is to reduce the Karbala cause into mourning ceremony.

They are diverting the public from understanding its responsibility towards reproducing Husseini values and considering Imam Hussein as an example and role model.

 They want to distort the concept of revenge for the blood of Imam Hussein to evade the path Imam Hussein followed and faced tragedies for that. This is a pretext to absolve us from doing what it entails towards this great divine trust.

Such a penetration could cause damage to the course of the real Islam and revival of the Karbala cause.

Q: Do you expect the Arbaeen march to impact other religions and cultures as a global message?

A: It is necessary to pay attention to an important phenomenon in some Sunni countries that are outside the Arab world, especially in Pakistan and part of Afghanistan, where Sunni Muslims there commemorate Imam Hussein's martyrdom.

It is very important to the point that the organizers of mourning ceremonies in Pakistan are Sunni; this is an important phenomenon unfortunate nobody casts light on it up to now.

I believe that it can open new chapters to successive changes in peoples' attitudes who think that Ashura inclusively belongs to Shia, especially in the Arab world, so that Ashura becomes a trans-sectarian occasion and a general Islamic ritual.

Of course, this requires enormous efforts, favorable conditions and time, but that is not impossible.

As for the return of the Arbaeen marches, I think that the demise of the pandemic will open the door to huge participation for all those who did not attend in the past years, and I think that the numbers will be double at that time.