(RNS) — Ashura, the tenth day of the primary month within the Islamic calendar, falls this yr on Saturday (July 5). A sacred day within the Islamic custom, it’s revered by Muslims because the day Allah saved the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) and the oppressed Israelites from the tyranny of Pharaoh by parting the Pink Sea.
It is usually the day in 680 that noticed the martyrdom of Hussain (might Allah be happy with him), the beloved grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) at Karbala— murdered in chilly blood by a corrupt ruler. It is usually the day that the Ark of Noah (peace be upon him) arrived to shore safely in keeping with many traditions.
The tales carry a standard theme: liberation.
However what’s liberation within the eyes of Islam?
It’s not merely the absence of chains. It’s freedom from tyranny in all its types — bodily, non secular, and ethical. True liberation shouldn’t be merely about who guidelines over you, however about who guidelines inside you. Within the examples of Moses and Hussain, liberation got here by sacrifice, steadfastness and a principled refusal to be complicit in oppression.
That’s what makes this yr’s Ashura so tough for American Muslims, who proceed to observe their tax {dollars} bomb and cage harmless youngsters.
This yr, Ashura coincides with Fourth of July weekend in the USA. Fireworks gentle up the skies in celebration of “freedom,” whereas smoke nonetheless rises from Gaza the place youngsters have been slaughtered simply this week in Israeli airstrikes, with weapons paid for by the American taxpayer. ICE simply acquired it’s “huge, lovely finances bump,” increasing its capability to harrass, intimidate, detain, deport, and surveil immigrants —i together with pro-Palestinian activists equivalent to Badar Khan Suri, Leqaa Kordia, Ward Sakeik, and Mahmoud Khalil, whose solely “crime” was their Palestinian descent or else their political dissent.
I’ve sat in jail visitation rooms with every of them, listening and praying. Every of their tales is exclusive, however every of them used the identical phrase in our conversations: disillusioned.
Ward Sakeik, simply launched after 5 months behind bars, was arrested on her honeymoon and chained like a prison. She’s been on this nation since she was eight years outdated. “Every thing I assumed I knew about America,” she instructed me, “went out the window.” Mahmoud Khalil stated practically the identical factor. So did Badar. So did Leqaa.
For them, American freedom grew to become a merciless bait-and-switch.
For a lot of Muslims, this weekend gained’t be marked by barbecue and fireworks, however by prayer, fasting, and reflection. On Ashura, the Prophet Muhammad fasted in gratitude for Allah’s liberation of the oppressed. He taught us to quick too — not simply from foods and drinks, however from ego, complicity, and apathy. It’s a day to spiritually align ourselves with the oppressed, to remind ourselves in our hearts that we don’t bow to pharaohs, regardless of how gilded their palaces or highly effective their armies.
However what occurs when the pharaoh doesn’t name himself a king? What occurs when oppression wears a go well with, waves a flag and speaks within the identify of democracy?
We live by a second when freedom is being celebrated in concept, whereas systematically undermined in observe.
For American Muslims, particularly this yr, these aren’t rhetorical questions. Many people have spent the final months attempting to free buddies from ICE detention, attempting to talk out towards genocide with out being criminalized and attempting to boost our kids in a rustic that grows extra hostile to our religion with each passing week. We’ve got seen civil liberties eroded, speech policed and the pursuit of justice painted as a menace.
And nonetheless we persist. As a result of liberation, in Islam, shouldn’t be granted by presidents or parliaments. It’s a divine promise. It could take time. It could require sacrifice. However it’s at all times coming.
So this Ashura we quick as a result of we nonetheless imagine within the God who break up the ocean for the oppressed. We pray for and combat for the kids of Gaza, and the detainees in American prisons, as all of them remind us that the wrestle for actual freedom shouldn’t be over.
Let the fireworks crackle within the distance. Let the slogans ring hole. We all know what true liberation tastes like. And we all know who grants it.
Ashura defines for us what it means to stroll the prophetic path: refusing to legitimize tyranny, even when that comes with the seal of empire.
