Thousands walk for Imam Hussain in an Arbaeen procession on Feb. 15, 2009, Sunday, in Dearborn, Michigan. It was freezing and snow fell during the parade, but up to 5,000 marched for Hussain through the streets of Dearborn. The annual procession started in Dearborn in 2004 and has grown in size every year, a reflection of the growth of Michigan's Shia Muslim community.
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Thousands of Shia Muslims march for Arbaeen in Dearborn, Michigan, a Detroit suburb, on Feb. 15, 2009. Despite freezing cold and snow, up to 5,000 walked to remember Imam Hussain. Most were of Iraqi descent.
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Thousands of Shi'ite Muslims march in Dearborn
Thousands of Shi'ite Muslims trudged through snow-covered sidewalks in Dearborn Sunday afternoon in a procession to remember the death of a Muslim leader killed in 7th century Iraq.
The 2-mile procession featured colorful flags in honor of Imam Hussain, the grandson of Islam's prophet, religious songs, and cries of "We support you, Oh Hussain."
The worshippers started at the Karbalaa Islamic Education Center on Warren Ave., the main commercial strip of Dearborn, and then walked to nearby Hemlock Park. There, they recited poetry and tapped their chests in mourning rituals known as latmiya.
Dearborn Police Lt. Wayne Seccombe estimated the crowd was between 2,000 and 5,000.
"We are here as lovers of Imam Hussain, lovers of freedom, of justice, of democracy," said Imam Husham Al-Husainy, the head of the Karbalaa center and the parade's organizer. "Imam Hussain is still alive with us, even though he was martyred 1400 years ago. His spirit is still alive."
The parade was held close to the 40th day after the death anniversary of Imam Hussain, who was killed in battle. Shi'ite Muslims, a minority among the broader Muslim community, remember Hussain every year during a holiday known as Ashura.
Forty days after the anniversary of Hussain's death is another holy day called Arbaeen, around which a procession is often held. In Iraq, millions have taken part in such processions after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003. Under Saddam Hussein's rule, such public displays of Shi'ite religious belief were often banned.
In metro Detroit, the Arbaeen parades started in 2004 and have grown in size each year, attracting Shi'ite Muslims from across the Midwest and parts of Canada. The crowd was mostly Iraqi-American, with some draping Iraqi flags on their back. Imam Hussain was killed in the city of Karbalaa, Iraq.
"We don't want to forget the message that Imam Hussain delivered 1400 years ago," said Basel Taki, 46, of Akron, Ohio. "This message is for all human beings. We will never forget to be right, be fair, to do the right thing."
Taki came to Dearborn for the parade with his wife, parents, and baby son, who was pushed in a stroller.
When the crowd reached Hemlock Park, they gathered before large paintings of Imam Hussain. Other posters depicted Shi'ite shrines in Iraq that have been attacked by radical Sunni Muslims in recent years. The marchers talked about how last week, a suicide bomber killed a number Shi'ite pilgrims in Iraq who were gathering for Arbaeen in Iraq.
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arbaeen in dearborn michiganby shabedi990 views
:S wtf is this? and wtf was that thing on a stick that was covered in some sort of cloth :S?!?!?!
bloodshed786 1 year ago
@amazigh6
Yeah and now? Hahaha bitch!
B190489 1 year ago
@B190489 FUCK YOU MONGREL! GO TO ISRAEL WITH YOUR RACE BROTHERS KHAZARS HAHAHAHA I THINK THE GAY PARADE OF TEL AVIV IS PERFECT FOR U HAHA
amazigh6 1 year ago
@amazigh6
HAHAHAHAHA! ALL MUSLIMS WILL DIE SISTER HAHAHA!!!! GAY MUSLIM! HAHAHA
B190489 1 year ago
@B190489
FUCK YOU ZIONIST!
amazigh6 1 year ago
@amazigh6
FUCK YOU MUSLIM!
B190489 1 year ago
underdevelopment and backwardness ignorant people
salamlaith 2 years ago
FUCK YOU JEW!
amazigh6 2 years ago
Animals.
schizrade 2 years ago
Why are the Muslims always so aggresive, can't they just behave decent.
NederSaks 2 years ago