Ayat. Sayed Muhammad-Bāqir al-'Hakeem: "The cause of Imam Hussain (a) is a legal stance. It is not incorporeal in the sense that it is about him (a) and not us. It is incorporeal - all divine commands are. But it also pertains to the Ummah's state in all times and generations.."

This is the son and representative of the top religious authority of Najaf during his time, Grand Ayat. Sayed Mu'hsin al-'Hakeem (passed 1970). And this is the view of the Shi'a school of thought and whoever denies it is defying and ignoring centuries of immeasurable evidence.

The question is: why? Why do some go around saying that Najaf is for secularism, or that Islam is apolitical, or that the cause of Imam Hussain (a) should not be politicized, or that Imam Khomeini was the one who introduced the revolutionary interpretation of the event of Ashura?

When believers - especially the youth - are being pulled away from political enthusiasm and the will to seek reform, who does this serve? When believers are taught that colonialism is not a black and white concept, but subject to different perspectives, who does this serve?

When believers are conditioned to follow their own understanding of 'defending' religion or expressing their 'love' for Ahl al-Bayt (a) without regard for Islamic laws, who does this serve? When they are told religious authority in Shi'a Islam is theoretical, who does this serve?

When believers are told Ashura is a cloud in the skies without a shadow over the land, who does this serve? When believers are told Ashura is a matter of the past and not a matter of the present or the future because 'no day is like the Imam's (a) day', who does this serve?

Who besides those who wish to keep their control over the Ummah? Who besides those who wish to put out the Shi'a religious establishment, which is the link between the believing public and the Imam of the time (aj)? Who besides those who have no confidence in the Islamic vision?

Yes, to say Islam is apolitical indicates a lack of regard for the Islamic laws that require a government to be carried out; it indicates a lack of confidence in the fruitfulness of the Islamic belief system; it indicates a lack of faith; it indicates a lack of belonging.

To say Hussain's (a) cause has no political implications is an attempt to put a ceiling on the possible influence his eternal martyrdom can have on the minds and spirits of people around the world. It is an attempt to keep reform a fablelike concept with no real applicability.

It is an attempt to ensure that the heat for Imam Hussain's (a) martyrdom - which Prophet Muhammad (s) said shall never leave the hearts of the believers - does not reach their power structures or melt their coldblooded control over believers' practice and sense of identity.