EVERETT — A soul-warming stew followed the lecture on religion.
Teens and young adults filled an Everett Community College classroom earlier this month to connect with their Shia Muslim faith, and the wider community.
Many had spent the day before preparing a dish of lamb and garbanzo beans known as qeema.
“It’s really blessed food,” said Sheikh Aous Asfar, a visiting religious teacher from Dearborn, Michigan, who delivered the evening’s lecture. “That’s the whole purpose.”
More than good grub, this traditional meal helps remember a tragic event at the core of their faith: the slaying of Imam Hussein, the Prophet Mohammed’s grandson.
The activities at the college were organized by Northwest Shia Youth, a group that formed last year to help in matters both religious and secular, theology and school tutoring, sports tournaments and more.
“You learn something every day and you can apply it to your daily life,” said Muneer Al-Ramahy, a 25-year-old attendee from Lynnwood.
Like Al-Ramahy, most of the audience hailed from Iraqi families.
Most of the Everett area’s Iraqis — members of the community estimate there are at least a few hundred families — began arriving here in the early 1990s. Most fled after the first Gulf War because they had joined a failed uprising against dictator Saddam Hussein. Before settling here, most spent time in a refugee camp in Saudi Arabia. Many adults suffered from post-traumatic stress.
Their children grew up in the United States or were born here. A generational divide left some younger members of the community adrift, spiritually and socially, said Ali Al-Sadi, 21, one of the lead organizers for Northwest Shia Youth.
“The group we first want to focus on are the Iraqis of north Everett,” Al-Sadi said.
The lectures at the community college earlier this month coincided with the 10-day mourning period that culminates with Ashura, when Shias observe Hussein’s martyrdom. They revere Hussein not only as the prophet’s grandson, but as his rightful spiritual heir.
Ashura comes on the 10th day of Muharram, the first month of the lunar Islamic calendar. It fell on Nov. 4 this year.
Hussein was killed in 680 in Karbala, in present-day Iraq. It was one of the defining moments in Islamic history, particularly for Shias.
A 24-year-old woman at the lecture said the history of suffering inspires her to persevere in daily life.
“Even the family of the prophet was oppressed,” Bashair Alazadi said. “What makes you think you’re not going to face hardship?”
Alazadi, who comes from an Iraqi family, works as an accountant in Bellevue. She’s eager to dispel misconceptions about her religion.
“Islam is such a social justice system,” she said. “It’s an uprising against the social injustices of the world.”
Shia are estimated to make up about 15 percent of the Muslim community worldwide. While smaller in number than the Sunni branch of Islam, Shias are the majority religious group in Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan and Bahrain.
Asfar, the teacher who gave the evening’s lecture, addressed the issue of religious extremism and violence. He had studied Islam in Najaf, Iraq, and quoted scripture to make his argument, in Arabic with an explanation in English.
“Sheikh Aous,” as people call him, directed unsparing condemnation at militant groups who are slaughtering innocent people in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere in the name of religion.
“Every single thing they do defies, and is an exact contradiction of, what the Quran says,” Asfar said.
Later, he called their behavior “disgusting” and “atrocious.”
“They are certainly not brothers to us in faith if they hurt other people,” he said.
Evil, however, was a side topic in a discussion that focused on sincere belief, mutual respect and self-improvement.
“Say it with me,” he told the room. “I am in the presence of greatness. Aren’t we in the presence of greatness every breathing moment of our lives?”
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465, nhaglund@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @NWhaglund.
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