MUMBAI: On a recent rain-washed evening, preacher Maulana Zaki Hasan Noori sat on a delightfully decorated mimber (pulpit) while a group of faithful occupied the carpeted floor in the spacious hall. Speaking fluently in Urdu, Noori took the audience down history. When Ummaiyed king Yazid's army martyred Imam Hussain, Prophet Muhammad's grandson, at the Battle of Karbala (Iraq) in 7th century and Hussain's sister Bibi Zainab was humiliated. The speaker, among other things, highlighted Zainab's courage to speak truth to power.
That a senior Shia cleric spoke of Zainab's courage on her death anniversary is no surprise. Remembering the events of Karbala and members of the Prophet's family is part of the Shia faith. The fact that so many Shia devotees packed a hall to hear such a sermon says a lot about the venue too. This is Haidery Jama Masjid in Mira Road, the biggest Shia Mosque in the city's Western suburbs.
