DEARBORN — On Sunday, October 9, thousands of mostly Shi’a Muslims— carrying flags and signs against oppression of all sorts—chanted with their right fists high in the air in support of Imam Hussain (the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson) and his fight for justice.

The fourth annual Ashura procession, “March for Justice”— organized by The Ashura Project— took place at 9:30 a.m. It started off at Fordson High School’s parking lot and ended at Ford Woods Park.

Most of the participants carried signs that said “Labayka ya Hussain” (“I’m at your service, Oh Hussain”), while others carried one of the imam’s central messages: “Live free or die with dignity.” 

Some waved red, green and black flags with the names of the imam and his family members written in Arabic to commemorate their sacrifices.

However, the most noticeable banners held by The Ashura Project volunteers— front and center— spoke against racism, police brutality, ISIS, Israel and Saudi Arabia. 

Two groups of young men, one wearing green and the other red, performed “latmiyat” during the march and at the destination. This ritual involves swinging the arms and thumping the chest at regular intervals to express mourning during a “latmiya”— a religious chant lamenting the adversities the imam and his family had endured.

There were also groups of young women and children dressed in similarly colored scarves and headbands. They recited the different latmiyas they’d memorized over the years while tapping one hand lightly on their chests.

Along the way, people from nearby neighborhoods offered marchers food and water in memory of Hussain and his family.

Sheikh Usama Abdulghani and Sheikh Ibrahim Yassine participated in the march and addressed the crowd once they reached Ford Woods Park. Both reminded the participants of the imam’s fight against injustice and where they must stand in their own time of injustice. 

“We learned lessons from the struggle of Imam Hussain, from the call of Imam Hussain,” Abdulghani said. “He taught us to stand for our principles and stand for the truth no matter what the cost; he taught us not to be afraid, with dignity.”

Abdulghani said they will stand for the truth and never be intimidated by Islamophobia.

“He (Imam Hussain) said that Islam itself will be finished if the Ummah (community) is evicted with a leader like Yazid (corrupt tyrant),” he said. “The mention of Imam Hussain is not for us a story about the past, it’s about right here and right now. If there is ever a non-divine ruler and he rules the Ummah of Muhammad, then again we say that Islam itself is finished. We believe that God alone has the right to rule his servants.”

Abdulghani added that Imam Hussain teaches people overwhelming mercy and love and that true Islam is not secular. 

“In the words of Imam Hussain, ‘I didn’t come out to oppress anyone,'” Abdulghani said. “He taught us that standing up for justice doesn’t mean we only pick our relationship with God, but rather that we have to be concerned with oppression and wrong that’s outside.”

He emphasized that they stand against any form of tyranny, including ISIS and police brutality in America. They stand with the oppressed— Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Palestine and any other countries. 

Sheikh Ibrahim Yassine strongly condemned oppression around the world, especially that caused by ISIS, Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Yassine said all prophets stood against injustice, starting with the Prophet Adam and the ones who came after, including the Prophet Jesus and Muhammad. He also urged the government to stop selling Saudi Arabia weapons and backing up those “murderers.” 

“‘Soon will the unjust assailants know what vicissitudes their affairs will take,'” he quoted a verse from the Quran at the end of his speech.