The Experience of Ashura ˗ Fadlallah Mosque (Imamayn al Hasanayn)
The Experience of Ashura ˗ Fadlallah Mosque (Imamayn al Hasanayn)
Already the preparation for this event in terms of dressing up was somehow like diving into another world. Being wrapped in black clothes with the head covered in a black: through this simple fashion change a whole new look or even new aspect of myself was revealed to me. Additionally I felt that with this disguise the gates to a new experience were opened more easily, since I did not directly feel like an outsider of the community, as I somehow did during our first visit in the Al-Omari Mosque. I moreover noticed that our adaption was appreciated and regarded with favor by at least some of the believers in the mosque. Being dressed all over in black occurred to be a good way of showing serenity, compassion and sympathy with the mourners.
Furthermore it was interesting to observe that some of the girls in our group had no problem with adapting in terms of veiling themselves at all, whereas others developed some kind of reluctance against this duty.
As early as we got off the bus and entered the Shiite quarter I felt very excited and agog to get to know the ways of this so far unknown Muslim branch. I would have expected to encounter a more serene and solemn atmosphere from the beginning on, as I understood Ashura to be a very important and intense happening in the Shiite calendar. People were dressed in their everyday wear, hanging around in the streets, chatting, laughing and so forth.
The shop in front of the mosque offered interesting merchandise like banners, flags, turbat, pictures of Fadlallah and tasbihat. It reminded me of the little shops in the monasteries we visited so far, selling rosaries, icons and other religious souvenirs. The sympathetic face of Sheikh Fadlallah was glancing at you from a dozen of pictures decorating the area all around the mosque, which gave an interesting hint at his popularity among the Shiites of this region. The sight of the mosque, from the outside as well as the interior was impressive and suggested a great financial expense along with proficient effort in building it. For the occasion of Ashura the mosque was decorated in dark colors: the columns were cloaked in black fabrics and banners with sayings of Husayn were hung up all around the building.
As we entered the women’s section in the mosque it was not filled yet but few women already found their seats nearby the columns. During the course of the evening it got quite crowded. I noticed the absence of facilities for ablution so I was wondering if this traditional obligation is not valid for the female Shiite believers.
The women’s area somehow resembled a big living room in my perception, since the women were sitting together in groups, chatting, children were playing and some young visitors even brought their studying equipment. Yet, at a second glance, you could also find women reading in the Qu’ran, praying with their tasbihat or listening to the Qu’ran reciting, which had already started. Others chose the middle course by ‘counting’ the tasbih while chatting with their neighbor. All in all it was a very lively atmosphere, which I wouldn’t have expected due to the information I collected about Ashura beforehead. The mosque provides the believers with turbat in little boxes, but they were not used very frequently at this occasion.
We were welcomed warmly by two women with a dozen of ahlan wa sahlan’s and a warm smile on their face. Yet at the same time I recognized more than few women looking at their foreign guests very skeptically and suspiciously. I understand that some of them truly felt interrupted in their praying session and considered the atmosphere to be destroyed by our presence.
After the initial Qu’ran reciting ended the greetings to the five pure souls (Mohammed, Fatima, Ali, Hasan and Husayn) started. ‘Salamu aleikum ja insa Mohammed’, was what I grasped from this greeting, the name each time substituted by another member of the family. I noticed the voice of the young Imam to be very sorrowful and lachrymose. The prayers stood up for this part of the solemnization and directed their hand in towards the Karbala. After the greeting some kissed their hands and covered their face, like washing it. Thereafter the sermon was held and the women returned to their comfortable positions, basically leaning against the columns.
Having a glance at the men’s section I saw the important Muslim ‘clerics’ sitting in the front. The men may not have been dressed as decent as the women, but I observed that they were much more attentive and intent, compared to the women. I even saw individuals standing up and bowing towards the mihrab every now and again. Some kids stayed with their fathers, but the greater part of youth accompanied their mothers, regardless whether male or female.
During the sermon most of the women continued chatting, although the content seemed to be very worthwhile and revealing. It dealt with current issues of education, upraising of the youth, values, responsibility in this world and political issues. Since it was held in AlFusha I could even grasp some words and try to guess the topics.
The men were answering to the sermon with a saying, which sounded like a blessing of Mohammed.
As soon as the prayer chant began, which served as a call for participation in the memorial, the atmosphere changed noticeably among the ranks of the women. They turned silent, took up different position, covered their faces with their hands, some closed their eyes, some even started crying. The participants were equipping themselves with tissues as if they actually planed on crying this evening. The intensity of the religious atmosphere increased significantly during the singing prayer. From this time on the women also joined the communal responses to the Sheikh’s elaborations.
After this part another speech or rather sermon was held. You could watch some women taking up their previous comfortable position, starting to chat again. Partly the women’s section of the mosque was transformed into a living room again. Yet there were some more women listening to the words of the sheikh now. During his remarks an offertory was collected, I assume for the purpose of maintenance and repair of the mosque.
Just before we were leaving a women sitting right in front of us called us and her fellow believers to order. She seemed to be very serious about this event and obviously felt disturbed by the impious conduct of the people around her.
All in all this setting reminded me quite a lot of the manifold compilation of believers in churches: Some very pious worshippers, attending the entire service in a very serious manner, feeling disturbed by the presence of ‘non-believers’ and on the other hand, some very open-minded and moderate worshippers, welcoming everybody warmly, enjoying the curiosity of foreigners about their belief and using the occasion to simply enjoy community life.
As we were showed around by one of the women, you could somehow sense her pride and ardor towards Sheikh Fadlallah praising him to the skies. I could even discern a sort of a missionary intention. Yet she made our visit very pleasant and made us feel comfortable in this unfamiliar situation.
The most interesting observation for me was on the one hand the diverse demeanor of women and men and on the other hand the differences in the level of piety among the women themselves. They seemed to be moved by the traditional rituals like the greeting of the sacred family or the praying chant rather than by the elaborations of the Sheikh. The men in comparison were attentive throughout the entire event. Among the women themselves some tried to emulate their male fellows, others took up a traditional women’s role, sitting somehow in the background of a serious occasion, contributing and attending in their very own ways.