 As-salamu alaikum. My name is Sayyid Masim Naqwi and I live in the United States in Virginia outside Washington DC and I'm here for arba-een of Imam Hussain. The arba-een of Imam Hussain is the world's largest gathering of human beings. It's the world's largest annual gathering of human being and it's unprecedented in the world. There are upwards of 20 million people here. They have come from all over the world. There are over 80 nationalities present here. There are people from all over Iraq, from all the towns and cities and villages of Iraq. There are over 2 million people from Iran here. We come here to honor our Imam, Imam Hussain. Imam Hussain sacrificed his life and the life of his family, his companions. They were massacred in a brutal manner because he spoke up and stood up against oppression, against tyranny, against inhuman treatment, against terrorism. He saved the divine revelation of his grandfather, Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. He stood up in support of divine justice. What he did was eternal. He, his sacrifice does not have, is not confined to a particular time or to a particular group of people. His sacrifice is universal. He, he sacrifices life for the message and for the principles he wanted to deliver. And that does not have any ethnicity, any nationality, any boundaries. When my father went to the United States in 1960, they said, my father, Sayyid al-Qarabbas, went to the United States. They said, no, they don't commemorate the sacrifice of Imam Hussain in the United States. But he said, what Imam Hussain did was universal. It does not have any boundaries. So he started the First Majlis in 1960 in Washington, D.C., where he had Hindus, where he had Christians, where there were people of all faiths. There were a few people, but that's how he started. Now we have many Imam Barghaz and many Hussainiyas, all over the United States, all over Washington with thousands of people who commemorate the sacrifice of Imam Hussain and what Imam Hussain did. He stood up for his principles. He stood up against tyranny, against terrorism, against oppression. When he was all alone in Karbala he had sacrificed his life. He has sacrificed he has sacrificed the life of his companions. He was about to sacrifice his life, the life of his family, his friends, his companions. But he was victorious. It seems incongruous that how is it that he was victorious? If you look at the tens of thousands of people who fought him and were opposed to him they're in the trash of history. Their names are synonymous with tyranny and oppression. But Imam Hussain's message was eternal and he was victorious in his message. Arbaeen is a manifestation of that. If you look at Arbaeen in his precedent event you have people who come here to honor Imam Hussain. They honor his message. They honor his sacrifice. They not only come here in the largest gathering of humanity in the world on an annual basis but they walk from Najaf to Karbala 60 kilometers and approximately 60 miles with stirring chance of Lebesque Hussain, with chance of Hussain as they walk. I've been coming here for the last three years. I came here for the first time three years ago for Arbaeen and I've been walking all along and I have seen amazing scenes. I have seen old ladies who could barely walk walking from Najaf to Karbala. I have seen old men who also could barely walk. I have seen people in wheelchairs. I have seen people who had limbs missing but they were taking one step at a time and saying Lebesque Hussain and walking to Karbala. But not only are they walking to Karbala but it's an amazing scene. Their accommodations are taken care of. They have a place to sleep and it's free of charge. The locals open up their homes and there are moqabs which is a term that used for people who serve the Zawar of Hussain. There are people who come and they serve the Zawar. So when people are walking and people are in Karbala their accommodations are free. Their food is free. They have tea, water, fruit. People are there to massage their feet. They have free medical treatment and there are no deductibles for their medical treatment. They have absolutely free medical treatment. People are massaging their feet. People are polishing their shoes. People are giving tissues to people to take. And they're imploring you to please help them. Let them help you. They feel honored that they can serve the Zawar of Hussain. It's an unprecedented display of looking after each other. The other thing that's really incredible is that there is no distinction amongst the people who are here who are serving Imam Hussain and people who are walking. There are PhD professors from universities in California. There are doctors and accountants and technologists and there are billionaires and there are ordinary people but there is no distinction in honoring Imam Hussain and his principles and his ideals which are universal and eternal. There is no distinction. They're all the same. They're all walking to Karbala to honor their Imam. They're serving their fellows of Hussain. I had a meeting with an Ayatollah respected scholar yesterday and he was telling me a story that there was somebody putting money. He had it on a tray and he had it on his head so he wouldn't see who would take it but there were some people observing it and what was amazing was that there was no greed. At the end of the day there were more people putting money in than taking out. So there's no greed. People eat as much as they can whatever they need to show the message of Imam Hussain to look at this is the true message of Islam. In the world and the west and in many countries there is a very distorted image of Islam. A couple of years ago when I was here ISIS was not too far from here and they even threatened the march but more people came after their threats and people are showing ISIS and their beheadings and their distortion of Islam as opposed to the Islam of Imam Hussain the Islam that he preserved which is a universal message and here we have people from all religions we have Christians we have people of the Jewish faith we have Hindus we have people from different sects of Islam. In honoring Imam Hussain I've seen processions of Christians I've seen processions of the Jewish people so there is no distinction whatsoever there's an ex congressman in the United States who was here this year there are people here from all walks of life from all over the world and they're walking to Karbala they reach Karbala to honor Imam Hussain there's a 20 million people there are also Mokhubs which served them we've had a Mokhub for the last three years which is the American Mokhub I believe it's the only American Mokhub we were honored and blessed that the Imam Hussain Sharia gave us a facility which is one of their office buildings and we have a Mokhub there we're reserved as a lot we give them water we give them cakes and pastries and food it's a tremendous honor if you're associated with serving the Zawar anyway whatsoever it's a great blessing because the Zawar are the honored guests of Imam Hussain and when you have the ability to serve the honored guests of Imam Hussain it's a true privilege the other thing I think that people should honor and understand in this role that B. B. Fatma Zaira Salaam Allah Salaam Salaam Allah she's one of the true heroes of Karbala Imam Hussain sacrificed his life all his companions and his family that supported him died but she was the one who led his family after that Zainal Abuddin was sick and she kept the family together and she got the message of Karbala across so she played one of the most critical and important roles and this is the lesson we have to learn we have an event that's amazing it's unprecedented there's nowhere else in the world that you have an event like Arbaeen but we have to get the message across we have to follow in the footsteps of Bibi Zainal we live in a world that is increasingly globalized there's globalization there's tremendous exponential growth in communication technology and advances we live in a age of social media so it is our responsibility to get this amazing message of our Imam to the world so the world knows what Imam Hussein stood for and the sacrifice he made and the event of Arbaeen where people are not selfish people are not greedy there's no distinction amongst the followers of Imam Hussein we are all here to honor his message to honor him so please if you are listening to me be an ambassador of Arbaeen if you have an opportunity please come here if you have an opportunity please serve the Zawar of Imam Hussein and get the message of Imam Hussein to the world to use the technology to get that message to everyone in the world and each one of you can play a very important role and I'm thankful for the opportunity to be here inshallah to be here every year to walk from Najaf to Karbala to honor our Imam to serve the Zawar of Imam Hussein in Amalqab it's a great honor and privilege for me to be here and to be part of Arbaeen which is a tremendous event thank you and I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you