Come, they told me...

There was a bit of a birthday party here in Baghdad today celebrated by over 1 Million Iraqis who follow the Shi’a sect of the Islamic faith.

The pilgrimage across the Tigris River on the newly-rebuilt Sarifiyah Bridge and the subsequent celebration had all the qualities of the famed marches on Washington, D.C. back in the 1960’s. It was evident the Iraqi people are moved by their faith and are willing to show it publicly.

The celebration was for the 7th Imam, Musa ibn Jafar al-Kadhim, who served as the spiritual leader for all Shi’as for 35 years until his death in 799 C.E. His caliph is known as a time of much peace through his leadership, so he came to be called the “calm one”.

Musa al-Kadhim was famous and well known among the people for his generosity. He set free over one thousand slaves and was known to pay the debts of those who were poor. One of his most noted quotes is "The best generosity is the help to the oppressed."

There is a story of how al-Kadhim was honored with the kings gifts on the Persian New Year known as Norouz. The chieftains, dignitaries and nobles one by one presented their gifts of great riches. Finally, an old man came forward and said, “Oh son of the Islamic Prophet Mohammad, I do not have anything from this world to present to you, but I have composed a few poems to honor our faith which I have brought as a gift. Al-Kadhim was so moved that he presented all of the gifts and riches he had been given to the old man. He then said, “I bestow these gifts upon you, so that you are freed of poverty and hardships."

I know, I know, It is just like the little drummer boy…well almost…and we wonder where these stories come from…

But al-Kadhim also is known to have said, "The world is soft and beautiful like a snake, but there is a fatal poison hidden inside."

And this held true in the celebration this past week. As the crowds gathered in Baghdad, two Sunni terrorists took the opportunity to destroy the opposing faith. A bomber waited until several thousand people had moved into a street enclosed by buildings on both sides of the street. The woman then moved into the crowd and detonated the explosive vest laden with nails she was wearing under her robes. The explosion killed some within the crowd and sent the rest running toward the other end of the street. There a second bomber waited until she was surrounded by the rushing crowd than she detonating her suicide vest. The total carnage was 44 killed and 227 wounded. There were reports of others dying from their wounds later that night, but I have no confirmation.

Stunning.

It took hours to identify the body of the bomber. Soldiers and police had to sort through the debris and torn flesh to identify one body from the others. There is not much left after a person detonates herself.

This is what we face. There will be calm and a return to normalcy to the point the people feel comfortable enough to engage in celebrations that have been recognized for centuries. Then a small minority will seize the opportunity to destroy the peace.

I wonder what al-Kadhim would think about this. But then I don’t think the terrorists would care. Their aim is to disrupt faith, which is directly in contrast to the teachings of the 7th imam.

Suprisingly, the pilgrimage did not stop. The people continued to come through the next day to the Khadamiyah Shrine, to honor the “calm one”, to continue their prayers for peace, to maintain their faith even is the face of terror.

This is what faith allows us to do.