Imam Hussein
Imam Hussein was the Prophet Mohammed’s grandson. Shiites make up about one tenth of all Muslims, his story represents the eternal battle against oppression and injustice, and the willingness to sacrifice even one’s own life for that struggle.
In 680 A.M. in a fight over who would succeed the Prophet Mohammed, Hussein and his entire family were slaughtered in a heroic last stand and that would lead to the bloody Shiite/Sunni rift that continues to this day.
The story may have happened 1,400 years ago, but it’s still relevant to Iran today. Just as it was relevant during the Iran/Iraq War, when young Iranians did not hesitate to be martyrs. Iran’s eight year war with Iraq is seen as a triumph of faith.
In 1980, Iraq’s president, Saddam Hussein, invaded Iran. Hussein was supported by the Soviet Union and the United States. They saw him as a bulwark against the spread of Iranian-style Islamic revolution.
The world assumed Iraq’s professional army would score a quick victory, but they didn’t reckoned with Ayatollah Khomeini’s holy warriors. Waves of young boys volunteered to become martyrs, clearing minefields by running across them. Eight blood-soaked years later, hundreds of thousands of young men and boys had been injured or killed. They had been inspired to fight on by their first martyr, Imam Hussein.
Amir Faker was one of the holy warriors. He volunteered to go to the front, when he was 13 years of age and was trained to defuse land mines. Imam Hussein’s courage inspired Amir, as well as, his two brothers, who were killed in the war defending their country. Twenty years later, their mother doesn’t regret the family’s sacrifice. She said: “I never wept for my sons when they went to war. In fact, I would have been angry if they had refused to go. That’s how important Islam is for the Shiites.”
In 680 A.M. in a fight over who would succeed the Prophet Mohammed, Hussein and his entire family were slaughtered in a heroic last stand and that would lead to the bloody Shiite/Sunni rift that continues to this day.
The story may have happened 1,400 years ago, but it’s still relevant to Iran today. Just as it was relevant during the Iran/Iraq War, when young Iranians did not hesitate to be martyrs. Iran’s eight year war with Iraq is seen as a triumph of faith.
In 1980, Iraq’s president, Saddam Hussein, invaded Iran. Hussein was supported by the Soviet Union and the United States. They saw him as a bulwark against the spread of Iranian-style Islamic revolution.
The world assumed Iraq’s professional army would score a quick victory, but they didn’t reckoned with Ayatollah Khomeini’s holy warriors. Waves of young boys volunteered to become martyrs, clearing minefields by running across them. Eight blood-soaked years later, hundreds of thousands of young men and boys had been injured or killed. They had been inspired to fight on by their first martyr, Imam Hussein.
Amir Faker was one of the holy warriors. He volunteered to go to the front, when he was 13 years of age and was trained to defuse land mines. Imam Hussein’s courage inspired Amir, as well as, his two brothers, who were killed in the war defending their country. Twenty years later, their mother doesn’t regret the family’s sacrifice. She said: “I never wept for my sons when they went to war. In fact, I would have been angry if they had refused to go. That’s how important Islam is for the Shiites.”
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