Imam Mardini speaking at the commemoration Photo: Bintjbeil.org

DEARBORN — In defiance to the sectarian bloodshed across the Middle East, a Shi’a imam held Ashura services at the American Muslim Center, a Dearborn Sunni mosque led by Imam Mohammad Mardini.

Speakers at the Ashura commemoration, which was held Friday, Oct. 17, emphasized the importance of combating divisions and promoting unity.

Ashura commemorates the death of Imam Hussain, a sacred figure in Shi’a Islam. 

Yazid, the sixth Caliph in Islam, killed Hussain, the grandson of the prophet Mohamad, for refusing to pledge allegiance to him in 860. Shi’a, who believe the prophet’s descendants are the legitimate Caliphs after Mohamad’s death, allocate the first 10 days of the Islamic lunar calendar to mourn and pay tribute to Hussain’s sacrifice. 

A large congregation of Sunnis and Shi’a attended the services on Friday. 

Shi’a Sheikh Mohamad Dbouk said commemorating Hussain in a Sunni mosque sends a message that Muslims are united and Ashura is not a sectarian occasion.

“We are the children of one religion, whose message is peace and tolerance,” he said. 

Mardini said Hussain is revered by all Muslims, and the symbolism of his revolution is not exclusive to one sect. 

He added that Hussain’s revolution was against injustice.

“At this time when Muslims are facing all kinds of injustice and discrimination, we need to express solidarity, especially during the days of Ashura,” Mardini said.

Osama Siblani, the publisher of The Arab American News, emphasized the importance of the event as a stand against sectarianism, which he described as a “disease.”

“We have no choice but to work together, Sunnis and Shi’a, to resist the waves of extremism and Islamophobia,” Siblani said. “We are in one boat; we survive together, or we drown together.” 

The Sunni-Shi’a commemoration in Dearborn garnered international attention, from several Middle Eastern media outlets, including Lebanon’s AlJadeed TV.