A delegation of Anglican priests visited a Shia place of worship in Lahore on Aug. 4 to send a clear message against sectarian violence ahead of Muharram, the first month in the Islamic lunar calendar, Ucanews.com reported.
“We reject hate … Shia, Sunni, Christians are brothers,” they chanted along with activists of Rawadari Tehreek (movement for tolerance) at Karbala Gamay Shah, the oldest imambargah (congregation hall for Shia ceremonies) in the city.
Members of the Shia community showered rose petals on the delegation and offered them refreshments.
This year the delegation was led by Pastor Shahid P. Meraj, dean of the Anglican Cathedral Church of the Resurrection in Lahore, and had six pastors in it. They prayed at the graves of Irani Shia scholars and locals buried behind the imambargah.
Pastor Meraj said both Christians and Muslims pray to the same God. “The blood of Imam Husayn and Christ flowing from Karbala and Calvary brings freedom from injustice. Together we remember their sacrifice for humanity,” he said.
“We demand foolproof security for the Muharram mourners and zero tolerance for terrorists. The Shia community has been targeted because of their faith,” said Samson Salamat, a Christian who founded Rawadari Tehreek.
We are promoting tolerance in the holy month using social media
The organization has been leading interfaith solidarity tours to Karbala Gamay Shah since 2016.
“We are promoting tolerance in the holy month using social media. Unfortunately, Muharram has been plagued with sectarian violence since Islamization in the eighties,” Salamat said.
Shias, who make up 15 percent of Pakistan’s 220 million people, commemorate the seventh-century massacre of Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Imam Husayn and his family and friends at the battle of Karbala in Iraq for refusing to pledge allegiance to ruler Yazid ibn Muawiya.
