Hawzah News Agency – On the birth anniversary of Imam Hussain (a.s.), in a press conference on Sunday, March 6, 2022, at the Artistic District of the Islamic Development Organization, the call for the “Second Cultural and Artistic AhlulBayt (a.s.) Festival” was announced as the “Ana Min Hussain” festival.

The festival will be organized by the Ashura International Foundation, with the participation of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, the Artistic District of the Islamic Development Organization, the Comprehensive Islamic Art Website, the ABNA News Agency, and other scientific, cultural, and artistic institutions. In the first press conference of the festival, the director of the International Ashura Foundation called on artists, writers, researchers, enthusiasts, and related institutions to participate in the production of works about Imam Hussain (a.s.) and the culture of Ashura.

“Ana Min Hussain” will be held in five different sections and branches: Akhtari

At the beginning of his speech, while congratulating the blessed Eids of the month of Sha’ban, Ayatollah Mohammad Hassan Akhtari stated, “Sha’ban is the month of light, Velayat, Imamate and the month of happiness of the AhlulBayt (a.s.). The birth days of Imam Hussain (a.s.), Hazrat Abbas (a.s.), Imam Sajjad (a.s.) and Hazrat Ali Akbar (a.s.) are in this month. Also, Imam Mahdi (a.s.) was born on the 15th of Sha’ban. I offer congratulations on all these occasions.”

“Ashura International Foundation, in cooperation with other institutions, will hold the “Ana Min Hussain” festival to benefit from research, talents, and tastes in the world in introducing the school of Imam Hussain (a.s.),” he continued.

“Ashura International Foundation is an international non-governmental organization,” he clarified, “This foundation has been established with the aim of promoting, explaining, and introducing the school of Imam Hussain (a.s.) and introducing the greatness and great goals of Ashura.”

“The blessed life of Imam Hussain (a.s.) and his resistance has a constructive role in society,” he said, “Ashura Foundation is trying to introduce the followers of AhlulBayt (a.s.) better and more deeply, to make Muslims more aware of the greatness of Imam Hussain (a.s.) and also to introduce that Imam to non-Muslims.”

“Currently, the five billion non-Muslims in the world have no knowledge of Islam, the Quran, the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h), the AhlulBayt (a.s.) and the world reformer, namely Imam Mahdi (a.s.), and it is the duty of the seminaries, universities and religious and cultural centers to try to introduce the world to these concepts. We need to introduce these concepts to the people of the world,” stated the Chairman of the Supreme Council of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, referring to the need to introduce pure Islamic culture to the people of the world.

“As the Supreme Leader has repeatedly pointed out, it is necessary to introduce the school of Islam in a clear, scientific, and logical language, and in the meantime, we must explain to others the role of Ashura in the destiny of human beings today,” Akhtari added.

“If we can introduce the attraction of Ashura to the followers of other religions and sects, we have taken a good step, as many people have changed with the understanding of this issue,” said the head of the International Ashura Foundation, emphasizing the influence of Imam Hussain (a.s.) in guiding humanity to God Almighty.

Explaining the name of the festival, Ayatollah Akhtari said, “The Arabic phrase “Ana Min Hussain” (I am from Hussain) has been quoted in different interpretations and ways in the words of the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h) towards Imam Hussain (a.s.). In the authentic Shiite and Sunni books, there are authentic and certain narrations that the Prophet said, “حسینٌ منّي و أنا مِن حسین” (Hussein is from me; and I am from him).”

“The life of Imam Hussain (a.s.) has different dimensions. In human history, there are great personalities and great heroes. But among them, certainly the distinguished figure and great hero of history who could create a unique movement of Ashura in history, was Imam Hussain (a.s.). Therefore, it is necessary to know the life of Imam Hussain (a.s.) and his role in creating a righteous and felicitous human society,” he emphasized.

“Countering distortions and explaining facts is another goal of this festival. Some opponents and enemies of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) always try to cast doubt on some Islamic and historical truths by raising doubts. Therefore, our duty is enlightenment to remove the ambiguity that the Umayyads and Yazid created for this thought.,” stated the head of the Supreme Council of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.

According to him, the five sections of the festival are as follows:

1. Cinema:

Short Narrative film,

Short documentary,

Animation,

Script writing.

2. Poetry:

Classical poetry,

New poem,

Children and adolescent poetry

Writing Lamentation for AhlulBayt (a.s.)

3. Written Works

Book,

Article.

4. Cyberspace Content Creation

Motion graphics,

Podcasts and music videos

5. Special ideas

Describing the “special ideas” section as important, the head of the Ashura International Foundation said, “In this section, the presentation of new ideas with special arts, new expressions and different languages will be honored.”

“We invite all scholars, researchers, artists, poets, writers, filmmakers and scientific and cultural institutions to participate in enlightenment. Rationalization and artistic activity on this beautiful saying of the Prophet (p.b.u.h) that “I am from Hussain” is a big step towards this enlightenment,” Ayatollah Akhtari said in the end, while re-inviting the audience of this call.

The “Ana Min Hussein Festival” is the continuation of the Grand Prize of the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h): Hosseini Aref

At the beginning of the meeting, while congratulating the birthday of Imam Hussain (a.s.), the secretary of the “Ana Min Hussain” cultural and artistic festival said, “On the blessed day of this Eid, today the call for the “Ana Min Hussain” cultural and artistic festival will be announced in several different sections.”

“This festival is the second edition of the series of cultural and artistic festivals of the AhlulBayt (a.s.). The first edition of the festival was held in 2013 and 2014, entitled “The Grand Prize of the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h)”, which was well received,” Hojat al-Islam Hosseini Aref continued.

“That festival coincided with the insults to the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h) in the West through cartoons and films. In response to these insulting actions, the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly held the Grand Prize of the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h), which was well received by artists, filmmakers, and writers from all over the world, and from Indonesia to the United States, 898 works of art were sent to the festival secretariat,” he said.

“In recent years, we have witnessed an unprecedented attention to Imam Hussain (a.s.) in the world. People from different religions and sects have been drawn to this enlightening fact, which is clearly manifested in the great Arbaeen march, and in it, magnificent scenes of the presence of people are created, regardless of color, race, border, and nationality. Therefore, it is necessary to introduce the culture of Ashura to non-Shiites and non-Muslims as much as possible. To this end, we launched the “Ana Min Hussain” cultural and artistic festival, which is based on explaining the relationship between the Prophet (p.b.u.h) and Imam Hussain (a.s.),” said the secretary of “Ana Man Hussain Festival” about the motivation of holding this festival.

“The call for the festival will be published today, March 6, 2022, and the deadline for submission of works will be September 22, 2022. Therefore, artists, poets and writers have six and a half months to produce works. The verification, selection, and judging process will be completed by January 20, 2023. The closing ceremony of the festival will be held simultaneously with the anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution of Iran in 2023, as well as the month of Sha’ban 1444 AH. We hope that for the sake of Imam Hussain (a.s.), we will be saved from the various strains of the Covid virus until that day so that we can hold a glorious closing ceremony,” Hosseini Aref said, regarding the festival schedule.

Noting that holding various workshops to help writers and filmmakers with content will be another activity of this festival during the next year, the secretary of “Ana Min Hussain Festival” said, “The steps of receiving the form and submitting the works will be performed from the comprehensive site of Islamic art.”

At the end of the meeting, Ayatollah Akhtari, the head of the International Ashura Foundation, and Hojat al-Islam Mohammad Taghi Ansari, director and producer of religious films, unveiled the poster for the call of the “Ana Min Hussain Festival”. In this poster, the goals, regulations, different sections and how to communicate with the festival secretariat are specified.