From Karbala to Gaza: A Rallying Cry against Injustice that Won’t Be Silenced

It is that time of the year again when voices of truth and justice, transcending lines of ethnicity, sect, and ideology, rise in unison to honor the ‘Master of Martyrs’, who redefined resistance and moral courage on the desert plains of Karbala fourteen centuries ago.

Imam Hussein’s (AS) uprising in 61 Hijri (680 AD) against the tyrannical rule of Yazid remains unparalleled in human history and continues to inspire and drive the campaigners of truth and justice worldwide.

Hussein ibn Ali (AS), the beloved grandson of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), did not fight for power, position, or privilege. He stood at the intersection of truth and falsehood, justice and tyranny, dignity and disgrace, and decided to stand on the right side of history.

As Iqbal Lahori famously wrote, “Hussein (AS) watered the dry garden of freedom with the surging wave of his blood, uprooted the despotism, and awakened the slumbering Muslim nation.”

The Battle of Karbala was not a struggle for power. It was a confrontation between blood and sword. Hussein (AS), with 71 loyal companions, stood against an army of 30,000. The choice was clear, and the objective was based on divine principles.

When summoned by Medina’s governor Waleed ibn Uqbah to pledge allegiance to Yazid, Hussain (AS) responded with a declaration that still echoes in the corridors of time: “A man like me cannot pledge allegiance to a man like him.”

Every year, in the month of Muharram, the faithful reaffirm their pledge to the eternal principles that Hussain (AS) demonstrated through action in Karbala. These annual commemorations are not grief-centric rituals but a powerful act of resistance, a rekindling of the resolve to speak truth to power, just as Hussein (AS) did with his blood in Karbala, and his sister, Zeinab bint Ali (SA), did with her words in the aftermath of Karbala.

The message of Karbala remains timeless. In Ziyarat Ashura, believers beseech: “O Allah, grant us the honor to rise for justice…” It’s a pledge to carry forward the mission of Karbala wherever injustice reigns.

It may not be hyperbole to suggest that Gaza is today’s Karbala. The uprising of Hussein (AS) against the corrupt and despotic Umayyad regime is not just a chapter from the past, it is a mirror held up to the present.

That often-quoted phrase “Every day is Ashura and every land is Karbala” may sound clichéd, but its subtext is piercingly relevant. It reminds us that the struggle between right and might is not bound by time or geography. Yesterday it was Karbala. Today it is Gaza.

The horrors unleashed upon people in the besieged Gaza Strip since October 2023 echo the cries of the oppressed that once rose from the plains of Karbala. Terror and tyranny wear many faces and fly many flags, but their nature remains unchanged. It is our duty to recognize the Yazid of our time, and respond as Hussain (AS) taught us.

“Death with dignity is better than life with humiliation,” said the Master of Challengers. An apartheid regime has, for 76 years, occupied Palestinian land, displaced families, stolen homes, and tried to extinguish the flame of resistance.

Since October 2023, over 56,000 people, mostly children and women, have been killed in cold blood in Gaza. Each day in Gaza has become some family’s Karbala.

We have seen mothers cradling lifeless children, fathers digging through rubble for their loved ones, entire neighborhoods turned to dust, hospitals and schools bombed with impunity, refugee camps targeted. The oppressor’s cruelty knows no bounds.

And yet, the Palestinian people have refused to kneel. With little but their resolve and righteousness, they have faced one of the most brutal military machines backed by global powers. Their resistance mirrors the Hussaini spirit: “Until death, no humiliation.”

In Karbala, a thirsty infant was struck with an arrow. A valiant youth fought like a warrior. A standard-bearer marched to fetch water and never returned. The same devotion courses through the veins of Palestinians today, who carry their resistance with extraordinary courage.

The cry of Hussain (AS), “Is there anyone to help me?”, was not an appeal to Yazid’s army. It was a timeless call to the conscience of humanity. And every year, when millions march from Najaf to Karbala on Arbaeen, they respond: Labbaik ya Hussain — “Here I am, O Hussain!”

Those who carry Hussain’s (AS) torch never surrender to deceit and falsehood. They speak truth to power, no matter how deaf the ears or how violent the response.

Today, Palestinians mirror that same sacred refusal. They refuse to bow to occupation, to dispossession, to humiliation. That is why Muharram is not merely a month of mourning—it is an anthem of solidarity with every oppressed soul across the world.

As Dr. Ali Shariati reminds us, human history is the “manifestation of the eternal conflict between the poles of God and Satan,” a struggle in which only the names and faces change. Today, history records Hussain’s (AS) triumph and Yazid’s humiliation.

Dr. Shariati further says that every revolution has two visages: blood and the message. Hussain (AS) and his companions gave their blood; Zainab (SA), the “Savior of Karbala,” carried the message. And so must we.

This is the mission of Azadari (mourning) — to name and shame the Yazids of our time, expose their tyranny, and stand by the oppressed with unwavering resolve and courage. Not merely with words, but with action, conviction, and conscience.

The tradition of Azadari itself began with the captives of Karbala — Sayyeda Zainab (SA), Umme Kulsoom (SA), and Imam Zainul Abideen (AS). Their elegies and sermons shook the very foundations of Yazid’s mighty empire. The spoken and written word became weapons against the oppressor.

When Yazid was informed of gatherings in Medina mourning Karbala, he panicked and re-arrested Imam Zainul Abideen (AS), fearing rebellion. Yet the spirit of defiance had already taken root. Azadari soon spread — from Baghdad to Kufa, from Iran to India.

Imam Zainul Abideen (AS) institutionalized the institution of Azadari. Poets were invited to keep the memory of the martyrs alive, one of them the legendary Farazdaq, who was even arrested by Caliph Hisham’s forces.

Imam Mohammad Baqir (AS) and Imam Jafar Sadiq (AS) gave further impetus to Azadari during their time. They deepened the understanding of Karbala’s philosophy among people. Imam Musa Kazim (AS) encouraged poets to write in their native tongues, broadening the reach.

Fourteen centuries later, just as Yazid couldn’t suppress the cry of Karbala, the Yazids of today also cannot silence the truth. The blood of Hussain (AS) still speaks. The mission of Zainab (SA) remains alive.

For Karbala is not merely a place. It is every land where truth is trampled. Ashura is not just a day. It is every moment when someone stands against injustice and oppression.

As long as there are oppressors, there will be Karbalas. And as long as there are Hussainis, there will be resistance. In the end, the might always vanishes, while the right survives.

The article was written By Syed Zafar Mehdi and first Published in Khamenei.ir