Shiites commemorate tradition

While each town holds its own ceremony, Hezbollah organizes its own

BEIRUT - Elias Shartouni

March/April 2004

“In every time and place there is a Hussein and a there is a Yazeed. I call upon you to continuously look for that Hussein and support him, and look for that Yazeed and fight him,” said the loud voice heard from speakers around the complex.

While getting closer, the voice gets louder. Range Rovers are blocking the road for circulation. Bearded men in black suits with ID card control the area. Lebanon is indeed a country of contrasts; we are at a five minutes drive from downtown, yet it is as if we are in another world.

The place is Beirut’s southern suburb commonly known as “Dahieh” on one of the ten nights where Shiite Muslims commemorate the Ashoura, the death of their leader Hussein bin Ali in battle with his political enemy Yazeed bin Mouawiya around 1,300 years ago.

While each Shiite town and party commemorates Ashoura itself, the Lebanese Hezbollah organizes the most impressive event in a huge hangar called the “Hall of the Greatest Martyr”.

The area is strictly pedestrian; Hezbollah’s jeeps block the ways. To get into the hall, one has to go through a metal detector run by bearded men in black suits. “This way please” says the usher. And here we are inside the large steel structure almost the size of a football field that could easily fit for 20,000 people. The hall is split in two by a fence separating men from women each having its own entrance. The floor is covered with carpets; plastic bags are available where one could put his shoes. It has modern sound systems and a large screen making the stage visible for those standing behind. Inside, the seating is organized by the party’s ushers. Members of the party’s own “red cross”, the “health organization” are also there in case of emergency. Al-Manar TV, the party’s main media outlet, is also there with several cameras.

Luckily for us, that night the speaker was no other than the charismatic Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary general of the party. His oratorical talent is incomparable in Lebanon, which is probably the reason for the heavy presence in the hall. Most of the people are teenagers wearing black a sing of mourning of the Hussein. Also, some are wearing the Iranian scarf, a black and white rag similar to the famous Palestinian Kaffiyeh.

Nasrallah can barely be seen except on the large screen. The stage is far. We try to get closer and closer. Impossible, an usher stops us saying that the front areas are already full and reserved for the elderly.

When the secretary general is about to conclude his speech, everyone stands up. “Peace be upon you,” he says and they reply by a repetitive massive “may god preserve Nasrallah.” Then they all sit back, time for the sheikh who will start telling the story of the death of the Hussein in a heartbreaking way.

The people take a lotus position, with their heads between their hands. The tragic voice starts begins from the early stages of the historical events, when Hussein arrived to the city of Karbala. The more advanced he gets in his tale the more his voice gets painful. Some of the people are already crying. The pressure goes up and up, the tale is getting to an end and more and more men and women are crying.

At the end of the process when most of the people present are already into tears, the organizers distribute tissues. The masses go back home in an orderly manner. It is around 10:30 in the evening. The night has already begun in Monot Street, the nightlife center of Beirut, a five-minute drive form here.

Lebanon is indeed a county of contrasts.