"The distance between [Mount] Safa and [Mount] Marwah is 378 cubic meters, and the distance between the shrines of 'Abbas and Imam Husayn is 378 cubic meters. I'm speaking from the mimbar, you can check the distances on Google Earth. It's 378 cubic meters," said the speaker in the English lecture today ( Read more... )

Papa got me new sandals, so I wore those to the imambargah. Now, since I'm not straight and I am sensibly trendy, I didn't wear socks under the sandals.

Before I entered the imambargah, I took my sandals off and then went in to sit down near the place where Cute Boy usually sits. Cute Boy arrived a little late and sat down an arm's length away ( Read more... )

Tonight was the fourth night of Muharram. Tonight's the night they start the really horrific intensive maatam or self-flagellation at the imambargah.

Maatam is one of the most unIslamic aspects Shi'a Islam. Shi'ite men and women slap their chests - some men even take their tops and vests off to do it.. and it ain't pretty, mate - and beat their ( Read more... )

I saw him today. After a cruel 346 days.
It was.. nice. He's got a goatee now. It's resting on the thin line between cute and outrageously stupid. But I still like him. After the majlis was over today, he walked right behind me as everyone was walking out of the hall and his arm touched mine ( Read more... )

After the Imam Husayn had been killed, the soldiers of the Yazeedi army stripped him of his valuable clothes and jewelry and then proceeded towards the Imam's camp to burn and loot the tents.

( Shaam-ay-Ghareeba )

About 1,326 years ago on the afternoon of Sunday, October 10th, 680 CE, the Imam Husayn was killed.

( The Imam Husayn )

Tonight, the tenth night of Muharram was the night of 'Ali Asghar [Ali the younger], or just Asghar for short. Six-month-old Asghar was the youngest son and child of the Imam Husayn and unfortunately, was one of the casualties of the battle of Karbala'.

( 'Ali Asghar )

In the first few minutes of the English lecture today, my mind was wandering as the speaker was slowly easing into his topic for today. I was thinking, "Aw, wouldn't it be the best if Cute Boy came and sat beside me? Hmmm ( Read more... )

Tonight's masa'eb were about the Imam Husayn's [half-]brother, 'Abbas ( Read more... )

Tonight was the 6th night of Muharram.

The English lecture was just a bundle of statistics of how the Western media has brought down the morality among people in the West by "desensitizing, normalizing and glamorizing" sex. He quoted circulation/subscription figures of the Playboy magazine and funnily enough, he blamed James Bond for teaching ( Read more... )