Anti-Iran Protestors Wage War Against Islam and Unleash Violence Against Shiʿa Muslims

On Sunday 25th September 2022, the Arbaeen Day Procession in London was the scene of lawless violence, chaotic vandalism and physical assault on innocent Shiʿa Muslim worshippers by secular Iranian protestors, who oppose the theocracy of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its Shiʿa Muslim establishment, allegedly in support of Mahsa Amini (whose case is currently pending an investigation in Iran).

The Arbaeen Day Procession in London is annually held as a peaceful commemorative event organized by Shiʿa Muslims of all ethnic backgrounds. The procession is held in honour of the Day of Arbaeen, which marks the end of a 40-day mourning period for Imam al-Husayn, the martyred grandson of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Over 1400 years ago, Imam al-Husayn was brutally slaughtered on the Day of Ashura in an outnumbered battle, known as the tragedy of Karbala, for refusing to pledge allegiance to the illegitimate ruler of his time. His revolutionary stand for the cause of Islam continues to inspire millions until today. For many, the legendary saga of Imam al-Husayn represents the ultimate symbol of faith, martyrdom and resistance to all oppressors. In the same spirit, the founder of the 1979 Islamic Revolution of Iran — Imam Khomeini, famously popularized the slogan, ‘Everyday is Ashura; and every land is Karbala!’

Yesterday, the Mahsa Amini ‘protestors’ in London revealed themselves as violent, Islamophobic thugs who attacked non-Iranian Shiʿa Muslim worshippers and tore off the headscarves of several Muslim women at yesterday’s unrelated Arbaeen Day Procession in Marble Arch. They then sought to cause violent damage to the Islamic Centre of England (the largest Shiʿa Muslim centre of worship in London, frequented by Iranians) — attacking anyone considered its attendees, throwing alcohol bottles at the mosque and breaking its glass windows.

Many of yesterday’s anti-Hijab protestors held the flag of pre-revolutionary Iran, LGBT flags and portraits of the former imperialist monarch who was toppled by the 1979 Islamic Revolution of Iran. Many of these violent rioters are also associated with the US-backed Mujahideen-e-Khalq (MEK) terrorist group, who operate with state support across Europe.

These are not anti-Iran protestors. They are anti-Islam rioters. They are being propped up by the West for the imperialist goal of regime change in Iran. In short: the West are seeking to destabilize the one Muslim nation that today is leading the global effort of anti-imperialism in the region and the material endeavor for the liberation of Occupied Palestine. Muslims must not give in to the ‘divide and conquer’ tactics of the world’s imperial superpowers. Whether you are Shiʿa or Sunni, every Muslim should recognize the crucial role that Iran geopolitically plays in the world today.

Calling for reform of police conduct and how laws are enforced in Iran is a legitimate debate even amongst supporters of the Islamic Republic. But the law mandating a minimal level of Hijab and modesty in public is something entirely separate and non-negotiable. That is akin to calling on an Islamic government to legalize the selling or consumption of alcohol in public, or to legalize gambling or prostitution (all equally unlawful in Islamic law). Unlike the Taliban rule in Afghanistan, it is a fact that 98% of Iranian people voted in its 1979 referendum in favor of an Islamic Republic, with Islamic law to govern its society. This means that there is also a minimally modest head-covering and dress code required in public, considered as an essential component of any cohesive Islamic society.

What is being attempted in Iran currently is a color revolution, not for the sake of the vast majority of the Iranian people who popularly are in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Images from the world’s largest funeral of Iran’s General, Qasim Soleimani in 2020 where over 10 million people came out onto the streets of Iran to honor their assassinated leader reaffirms Iranians’ commitment to the Islamic Revolution.

A few hundred Islamophobic rioters in England will never be representative of the democratic will of the vast majority of the Iranian people.