Hawzah News Agency- In a commentary piece for Hawzah News, Sheikh Qadir Akaras, head of the Turkish Assembly of Ahl al-Bayt (PBUT) Scholars, has offered a reflection that transcends geographic boundaries, examining the global manifestations of this year's Ashura commemorations. He describes Ashura as a shared heritage of human conscience and Karbala as a universal language of justice, freedom, and human dignity. The full text of his commentary follows:
The borderless voice of Karbala
Every year, as the month of Muharram arrives, the world grows a little quieter. But this is not the silence of death; it is a stillness in which the conscience speaks and hearts listen. For Karbala is not merely a date on the calendar; it is an echo in the conscience of humanity that never fades.
The Ashura commemorations of 2026 made this truth visible for all to see once more. This year, it was not only in Karbala, Najaf, Qom, or Mashhad. From Istanbul to London, from Berlin to New York, and from Karachi to Sydney, millions across the globe came together around a shared mourning. Geographies differed, languages differed, cultures differed — yet the language of tears remained unchanged.
The massive flood of millions of pilgrims in Iraq was not simply a manifestation of historical attachment, but a symbol of living faith. In Iran, in the shadow of the loss of a beloved leader and war, centuries-old traditions found renewed connection with the rhythm of modern cities. In Pakistan and India, despite security concerns, the determination of the people to keep alive their love for Hussein (PBUH) was nothing short of admirable. In Lebanon, elegies chanted despite the brutality of the Zionist occupiers and the mercilessness of war — and memorial ceremonies that transformed into displays of strength — brought back to the field the Husseini spirit within Hamas that bombs could not extinguish in Palestine.
Europe: A new landscape
Europe, however, presented a different landscape this year. The processions held in London, Berlin, Hamburg, and other major cities were no longer confined to inward-looking mourning programs within migrant communities. They appeared to have taken on a global dimension. The message of Karbala clearly reflected the reality that it is becoming a universal language around the concepts of justice, freedom, and human dignity — watched with curiosity by people from different faiths and nations.
In the United States, despite the crowded distractions of the World Cup, programs held in cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston were not limited to mourning gatherings. Blood donation campaigns and relief efforts for the needy demonstrated to the wider society that Karbala is not only a wellspring of tears, but also a school of compassion and social responsibility.
Turkey: Generations united in grief
In Turkey, too, a striking feature of the programs held — particularly in Istanbul, Ankara, Igdir, Kars, and many other cities — was the coming together of different age groups in a shared spiritual atmosphere.
The sorrow-laden love of the Anatolian people, intertwined with devotion to the Ahl al-Bayt (PBUT), created a beautiful space that embraced all segments of society, from the ruling party to the opposition, uniting them in common mourning. Young people dressed in black, walking alongside elderly men in black, were transmitting to the future, in their own language, the Karbala their grandfathers had narrated. This was not merely the continuation of a tradition; it was the entrusting of historical memory from one generation to the next.
The critical question: remembrance or understanding?
Yet what prompted the deepest reflection on this year's commemorations was not the sheer size of the crowds. The central question that must be addressed is this:
Is the remembrance of Karbala spreading, or is the understanding of Karbala growing?
Commemorating Imam Hussein (PBUH) with tears is easy. What is difficult is living according to the truths for which he rose. In this regard, the updating of Karbala's message and the transformation of ceremonies into tangible responses against oppressors was a hopeful sign.
Oppression continues on the earth today. Innocent children still weep. That hunger, war, occupation, and injustice remain a shared disgrace for humanity makes the alignment of Karbala's message with our era an urgent necessity.
If those who return from Ashura gatherings do not become more just in their workplaces, more compassionate in their families, more honest in society, and braver in the face of oppressors — both as individuals and as a community — then the message of Karbala has yet to fully penetrate the heart. For Karbala is not only an event to weep over; Karbala is an ethical school that teaches one not to remain silent before the oppressor.
The digital age and the globalization of mourning
Another reality that drew attention this year is the globalization of mourning culture in the age of communication.
In the past, people could only attend ceremonies in their own cities. Today, they can follow programs across the world simultaneously. A lament sung in one city echoes minutes later on another continent. Water distributed by one child sets hearts beating thousands of kilometers away.
It is as though that call — "Is there any helper who will come to my aid?" — which echoed along the banks of the Euphrates centuries ago, has now passed through fiber optic cables and is reaching all of humanity once more. Perhaps this is Ashura's greatest miracle.
Fourteen centuries have passed, yet neither have the oppressors been forgotten, nor has the voice of the oppressed been silenced. Sultanates have been consigned to dusty shelves of history, empires without number have collapsed — but the red banner of Karbala still flies across the world. Because truth lives on not by the sword, but through the conscience.
And the lifespan of conscience is longer than that of states.
Karbala belongs to all humanity
The Ashura commemorations of 2026 have shown us once again: Karbala no longer belongs to a specific geography. It is the shared heritage of human conscience. Wherever there is an oppressed person, the name of Hussein (PBUH) will be remembered anew. Wherever a human being pays a price for justice, Ashura will be relived. For Karbala is not a battle left behind in history; it is a call to ethics and uprising, addressed to the human being of every age.
And that call is as alive today as it was on the first day:
"Will a human being stand with the oppressor, or with the truth?"
Written by: Qadir Akaras
Your Comment