As a part of our ongoing Tableegh activities in West Africa, The World Federation’s External Tableegh department had the opportunity to sponsor Muharram activities in Abidjan, Ivory Coast through the Association Francophone of Imam Al-Sadeq (as).
Here is a brief overview of the activities that were conducted in Ivory Coast during the month of Muharram:
Despite the current situation with Covid-19, Alhamdulillah, we were able to obtain permission from the Government of the Ivory Coast to conduct the Muharram programs. Our team made the necessary arrangements with the utmost precaution to ensure the safety of all the Mumineen who were attending the programs. Please click here to see the measures undertaken by the organisation for the safety of the Mu’mineen.
Keeping in mind the needs of the community, the centre conducted daily Majalis program in French during the first 10 nights of Muharram. The program began every night at 8 pm with the recitation from the Holy Qur’an and Ziyarat of Imam Husayn (as). The lectures were delivered by Shaykh Mohsen Mohamed Ali Al-Khaleq who is an eloquent scholar and also recites heart-touching eulogies and Masaeb in French.
The lectures were followed by French and Arabic lamentations and Latmiyyah by Mulla Mohammed Hamza and Sayyed Yusuf al-Helwe, who was invited from Bruxelles – Belgium especially for these recitations.
A number of senior Sunni Imams from other Abidjan mosques also participated in these nights of grief and even gave talks on the personality of Imam Husayn (as).
A full reading of the martyrdom (Maqtal) of Imam Husayn (as) was also held in the French language in the presence of the official Ivorian media and attended by many people including Ministers and senior Ivory figures. The audience, including non-muslims were strongly affected by the recitations and this proved to be a wonderful opportunity to spread more awareness about the event of Karbala and the martyrdom of Imam Husayn (as) and his noble companions.
On the day of Ashura, the organisation set up a blood donation drive alongside the distribution of food, clothes and monetary assistance in the name of Imam Husayn (as) by the Mu’mineen to spread more awareness and educate the common people about his stand in Karbala. This was widely reported in the Ivory media and left a very good impression. Check out the organisation’s videos video 1 & video 2 to watch a quick interview with the participating donors at the blood drive.
Apart from the Majalis and reading sessions, a professional artwork and a film about the tragedy of Ashura in the French language was also made and presented under the supervision of a well-known theatre director, which was a great success.
Although French is the first language of a lot of Muslims in the African continent spoken in about 20 African countries and the main language in schools and universities in these countries, has unfortunately been neglected by religious institutions. Therefore, these majalis, lectures and lamentations which were conducted in the French language were very warmly received and highly appreciated, with big participation from the youths.
