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Why Mumbai is a draw for Muharram preachers – Times of India

Sr preacher Maulana Syed Aqeel-ul-Gharavi delivering a sermon in Dongri

MUMBAI: Recently, a journalist joked to leading Shia scholar and preacher Maulana Syed Aqeel-ul-Gharavi that there is no place on earth where Islam reached and he (Gharavi) has not gone, too. Jokes apart, Muharram majlises or assemblies across the world scramble to get him for the initial days of Muharram to deliver the sermons. “There were invitations from many places, but I chose Mumbai. The city and its people fascinate me,” says the London-based senior preacher.
Gharavi is not the only preacher from outside the city currently addressing Muharram majlises here. In fact, Mumbai attracts preachers for Muharram like a magnet. Gharavi has delivered Muharram sermons at the iconic 160-year-old Masjid-e-Iranian at Dongri just for a couple of years-the last two years in online mode. However, it was the late Maulana Mirza Mohammed Athar from Lucknow who never missed his Muharram sermons for 58 years at this mosque and entered the record books for being the first speaker in the world who delivered lectures for so long at one venue.
“He didn’t take a break even after a bypass surgery and a hand fracture,” says his son and preacher Maulana Mirza Ejaz Athar who too delivers sermons at the Mughal Mosque but at a different slot. “Three generations of my family have delivered Muharram sermons in Mumbai.”
“For the 9 pm sermon, we had to choose a preacher who could live up to the standards that Maulana Mirza Mohammed Athar had set. The hunt stopped at Maulana Gharavi,” says the Masjid’s honourary secretary Namazi. Speaking in flawless Urdu, Gharavi connects with crowd easily as he dwells just not the spiritual tradition of mourning the martyrdom of Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Imam Hussain and his 72 supporters at the Battle of Karbala (in Iraq) but also speaks on need to uphold justice, truth, morality in the contemporary world.
Mourning the tragedy of Karbala, says Gharavi, is not an exaggerated expression of grief. “For the Shias, it is a way of life. Mourning Karbala tragedy is observed by Sunni Muslims as well as many non-Muslims. We emphasise on continuing this tradition of commemorating Imam Hussain’s martyrdom because it encourages humanity to stand up to despotic rulers and cruel regimes everywhere,” explains the globe-trotting, Banaras-born Gharavi.
Another senior preacher Maulana Abid Bilgrami is originally from Hyderabad but spends the year hopping from one city to another across the globe, delivering sermons. However, for the last 24 years, Bilgrami has spent Muharram in Mumbai, addressing the mourners at majlises held at Rizvi College in Bandra and Zainabia Imambada at Bhendi Bazaar. In fact, on all the 10 days, Bilgrami delivers seven sermons at as many venues in the city, including Khoja Jama Masjid and Qaisar Baug, both at Dongri. He also delivers sermons at a private home in Bandra while his day, he informs, begins with a sermon on a UK-based channel.
Channels play a big role in amplifying sermons, talks shows, short films, and marsiyas (mournful poetry) related to Muharram. Mumbai-based Channel WIN’s Imran Rasool claims over four crore viewers in 30 countries who tune into their Muharram mourning programmes. “Viewers join us through YouTube, Twitter and Facebook too,” says Rasool.
Maulana Yasoob Abbas, another preacher, is popular for his preaching sessions at Muharram processions. Though he also delivers sermons at a couple of majlises in the city, his preaching at the processions is popular. So is his address at Shaam-e-Gharibaan (the mourning session on the evening of Ashura) at Rahmatabad Qabrastan in Mazgaon.

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Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/why-mumbai-is-a-draw-for-muharram-preachers/articleshow/93403055.cms