Ashura for Children, Education on the Path of Imam Hussein
Sayyeda Mariam's girl's squad leader at al-Mahdi scouts Hanan Bilal confirmed that the Ashura activities are very effective and have been taking place for several years, with a high cooperation from scouts' members and their parents.
Photos By: MajdulZahraa
Children in the scouts gain their own progress and experience between home and the scouts' activities. These children receive certain education aspects at their homes, which bonds them to Imam Hussein and his combative, while in the scouts, they get acquainted to the path of Imam Hussein in the application of social life. This is applied through the scouts' activities to develop the child starting from the age of six. Through their family teachings and those of the scouts, the children would carry along certain values throughout their lives.
Imam al-Mahdi Scouts Organization has been for years now organizing Ashura activities for children; its members and others who wish to attend.
The scout organization mainly extracts educational lessons from Ashura, and illustrates them through the activities held in all areas of Lebanon in which al-Mahdi scouts are present. In its special program, and after some leaders are trained on elegy reading to perform during the days of Ashura, children are invited to take part in the events.
The objectives pursued by the al-Mahdi Scouts through these activities are:
- Reviving the rituals of Allah
- Updating the relation between the generations and Imam Hussein's uprising
- Informing the children with the principles of the Imam Hussein's renaissance
- Boding between children and Prophet Mohammad (Pbuh) and his household
- Informing the children about the culture of the Islam as a religion
Ashura activities were held throughout the days of Ashura; 13 in particular, starting from the first of the month of Muharram, and following standards that include:
- Attracting children aged five years up to sixteen years old
- Taking into consideration the difference between the children's ages to suit the level of awareness and understanding
- Focusing on involving the children in the details of the program
Furthermore, the program includes a variety of daily ideas such as:
Reading the Quran, illustrating and reciting Imam Hussein's story in Karbala, reciting the Ziyara (call) for Imam Hussein with prayers, and then discussing a Ashura notion to that the children would share. Sometime a movie of the story of Imam Hussein's mission in Karbala would be presented.
We attended some of these activities, boys and girls scouts' squads in Beirut and in the south, and we found convergence between them, which proves the unity of its program. Al-Mahdi scouts have for sure organized a very unique program which attracts the audience from the opening till the closing ceremonies.
For example, Imam al-Baqer boys' scouts' squad in Beirut followed the same program adopted by Sayyeda (Lady) Mariam's girls scouts squad in the south. The unique united program mainly consisted of:
• Reading verses of the Holy Quran
• Having one of the scouts squad's member to introduce the event, in both boys and girls activities
• Reading the Ashura elegy by one of the trained leaders in both girls and boys scouts, with ensuring the participation of all members, and examining whether the members are concentrating through asking questions on the issue.
• Participating in a play that tells the story of Ashura. The story of Abdullah the Infant (Imam Hussein's son) was performed by Sayyeda (Lady) Mariam's girls scouts squad, and the story of al-Qassem and Ali al-Akbar was performed by Imam al-Baqer boys' scouts' squad. So at the end, children were able to absorb the values of Ashura such as patience and sacrifice.
• Performing elegies and "latmia" rituals in which girls and boys grieve over the pain of Imam Hussein and his household.
• Watching special movies about Ashura
• Praying for Allah to hasten the appearance of Imam Mahdi
In an exclusive interview,
scouts organizer and elegy reader at al-Mahdi scouts' events, Mohammad Audi said, "This event organized by Imam al-Mahdi Scouts, in terms of education we need to adopt texts that are suitable with the children, because the texts still lack the specialized language for children, and we are working on it to be exclusively for them. We have already developed a number of books."
On another hand, Fatima, who is a girl's squad leader at al-Mahdi scouts, and also recites elegies for children, stated, "The texts are good and very understandable for children because it is a simplification of the story so that children can understand what I am saying in order to achieve the goal. I try as much as possible not to bore them listening, and I prevent using hard language as much as I can".
"Through my experience of reading the story of Ashura for children, I believe that if we only recite the story of Imam Hussein in front of the children, they will cry right away even if we don't say through elegies, because what happened with Imam Hussein is a tragic story", Fatima further added.
She provided us with an example of a girl who is participating for the first time in the activities, and now has become a member of the squads which embraces 221 members.
On his part, leader of Imam Hojja boys scouts squad Ali Daher from the southern village of Kfar Roman, stated in an interview with moqawama.org that, "Despite the doctrinal and ideological diversity in the village, all the children take part in the Ashura activities, as they have reflected a positive effect, so that the children insist on their parents to let them attend the event."
During the Ashura central procession held in the Beirut southern suburb, moqawama.org interviewed many children, asking them: Why are you here, participating in these activities related to Ashura?
Their response was similar, for they expressed that they have come to share with Imam Hussein his suffering, for they are his followers, and they wish if they were with him for advocacy to make his victory. The children further noted that because of Imam Hussein's movement, the religion was saved from destruction, adding, "Thanks to him, we could reach Islam now in our present time".
What's interesting is that these intellectual answers we received from young children, which surprised us and gave us best evidence that these activities had achieved their goal. Of course, there is great appreciation for the role of parents who encourage their children to participate in these commemorations.
Moreover, in an exclusive interview with moqawama.org, Sheikh Ibrahim Ballout, who is a prominent elegy preacher, shared his point of view about the special Ashura activities designated for children.
The interview went as follows:
Q: What is your opinion about Ashura's special activities designated for children?
Do you agree that there should be such activities specialized for children, or is the goal achieved during the presence of children with their parents in the public activities held by adults?
A: "Ashura activities will entirety benefit everyone and the presence of children in the events designated for adults' will reach the target with no doubt. But the existence of special activities for children is also good, because it would take into consideration their level of intellect. We have to take care of the language they understand. I encourage such activities, and I encourage all kinds of inclusive activities and not just for children, but for all cases. For example there are special Ashura activities and elegies designated for the deaf, mute and blind people, and they are important since that delivered notions of Imam Hussein, according to their level and ability to understand".
Q: In light of the suffering of our community of the cultural breakthroughs affecting youth and women, do you believe that there is a threat to the sustainability of the activities of Ashura, especially among young people?
A: "When it is raining, the rain falls down on everyone, and Imam Hussein is the rain that everybody feels, and it benefits all the human beings. Continuation of Imam Hussein's biography over time is inevitable, we just help in installing it and passing on the thoughts, Allah is the only one who saved this biography of Imam Hussein, until it reached all the generations despite all what has happened throughout history.
Q: Is there a need to add details to elegy texts in order to keep Ashura's activities complying with what the community is facing changes in the concepts and values?
A: My opinion is we can just draw the scene, through illustrating the reality of the story without adding anything, and that is enough for the continuity of the story of and Karbala; the reality itself is an affective story, societies will deal with as it is. We do not support any additions, never, because the story of Imam Hussein does not need any additives at all. Yes, there is reduction of the original text and not change, and the revolution of Imam would not subside, and western media will not affect women and youth. The women's role is based on the renaissance of Imam Hussein, and for the children and youth, the key role in Karbala is unforgettable especially when the models of Ali Alakbar, Alqasem and Abdullah the infant are present in their minds.
Elegies commemorating Ashura began in the era of the Prophet Mohamad, with Omo Salama, when the prophet predicted the death of Imam Hussein, and then when the wife of Yazid recited an elegy on Imam Hussein in Yazid's palace. These commemorations continued thereafter with Sayyeda Zeinab and Imam Zein El Abidine until they reached us and became a symbol of mankind's freedom, and the right of every individual.
These special activities for children are held in order to attain the love of Imam Hussein. Moreover, the special activities designated for the deaf, mute and blind people, should continue for these people too have the right to get to know Imam Hussein, for Imam Hussein and the renaissance of his revolution is a right and property of the whole world.
Source: moqawama.org
