It was my privilege to be invited to speak at NSW Parliament House at an Ashura celebration on August 8, 2025. Our topic was “Imam Hussain for ALL.”
In 680 AD, on the plains of Karbala, a stand was taken that echoes through to today. Imam Hussain, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), stood firm against the tyranny of Yazid. Despite overwhelming odds, Hussain’s unwavering faith and dedication to justice became a beacon of hope. His sacrifice at Karbala stands as a testament to the power of standing for truth, even in the face of insurmountable odds
I know some people find this Shia focus on Imam Hussain confusing, but, as a Christian, it makes perfect sense to me. I wear a cross around my neck, and in some ways it it a gruesome symbol. The comedian Lenny Bruce used to joke that if Jesus had been born in the 19th century, we’d all be wearing little guillotines around our necks, and if he’d been born in the 20th, we’d all have little nooses! These are indeed ghastly symbols at one level, but we beautify them by making them out of precious metals and embellishing them with stones because we recognise that in this case, even a most gruesome death can be a source of hope and new life!
Christians and Shia Muslims share a profound understanding of the role of redemptive suffering in human history, and, consequently, we are united in standing with all those who are oppressed and suffering in our world, or at least we should be.
I’m very conscious that in the ongoing crisis in Gaza, it’s really been the Shia Muslim world that has stood in defence of Palestine. The Shia of Lebanon, of Yemen, and the Shia nation of Iran stood up for the suffering people of Gaza in a way that no one else has done, and history will remember that. The rest of the world is slowly coming on board, but it has been the Shia community that has led the way.
They have paid a price, of course, and some might have thought the violence enacted on Lebanon, on Yemen and on Iran would be enough to keep them quiet, but if you think that, you don’t understand the Shia community, you don’t understand Karbala, and you don’t understand the legacy of Imam Hussain.
Christians walk the road to Calvary to remember a love that bore injustice for the sake of humanity. Shia Muslims turn to Karbala to stand with Husain, who refused to bow to tyranny even at the cost of his life. These sacred journeys converge in a call to all people of faith – and of goodwill – to resist oppression, to dignify suffering, and to transform grief into action. Hussain’s stand is not confined to sect or creed. He belongs to every heart that breaks for the persecuted, every voice that rises for the silenced, and every soul that believes that truth must be defended, regardless of the cost. In Karbala, as on the Via Dolorosa, we do not merely mourn – we march.
And today, we march for Gaza. For the children beneath the rubble. For the mothers who bury their sons. For the sacred right to live free from siege and silence. Imam Husain is for all—and he walks with the oppressed still.
