By Khalid Idris Doya
It was on the first day of Arba’een Symbolic Trek from Pambeguwa zone that the wife of revered leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, Malama Zeenatudden Ibrahim Zakzaky visited the trekkers and distributed them some relief materials which consisted of foods and assorted drinks.
Malama and her entourage met the trekkers in close proximity to Dutsen Wai where she distributed them the materials with a view to getting the blessings of the symbolic trek. She spent nearly two hours at the makeshift camps before she departed, she prayed for the successful completion of the trek and also blamed the West and Israel for the recent bomb attack on Shias who were trekking to Zaria from Kano.
In this interview with IMNG, she shared her experience as to how the trekking was going and other related matters. Enjoy:
IMNIG: Malama you have just visited the site of the Arba’een Symbolic Trek from Pambeguwa zone but what would you say about the development?
ZEENATUDDEN: Well, we are really grateful to the Almighty, because it is high time the people of this country realised the gravity of the injustice meted out to the purified household of the prophet (saw), for it is through him that Allah saved mankind from perdition, alas! The irony is his families were brutally massacred in the aftermath of his demise. His legacy was ignored, and the pristine foundation of his teaching was disfigured by some power mongers which have eventually brought us to where we are today. The ongoing carnage in the Muslim world is originated from Karbala tragedy and unfortunately a lot of people are not aware of it. Muslims would have been sobered up had they understood the essence of this trekking, thank God, people are now realising our mission especially if you take a look at the mammoth sympathisers that are watching us.
IMNIG: What do you think are the things brothers and sisters should avoid during this trekking?
ZEENATUDDEN: I am pretty sure that the trekkers are answering the clarion call of Imam Hussain (as) and they are emulating the virtues of Sayyida Zainab, therefore I call on the trekkers to try as much as possible to discharge their duties with open hearts. They should not forget to send the message to our watchers and when they encamp, they should strive to involve in prayers and devotions.
IMNIG: What is your take on the recent bomb attack
on Shias in Kano?
ZEENATUDDEN: Well suicide bombers should not be blamed solely for the attack. If you could listen to Malam’s sermons in the month of Muharram, you could understand that external foreign forces were devising plans including hiring assassins from different parts of the country to sabotage the exercise because they knew that Buhari was not going to pander to their demands. So people should know that suicide bombers were only used as smokescreens to deceive them. Thank God, a lot of people claimed that it was quest for martyrdom that propelled them to come out in order to be part of the trekking.
IMNG: What are the lessons from the bomb attack?
ZENNATUDDEN: Imam Hussain ( as ) had sacrificed his life for Islam to exist, and the lesson here is brothers and sisters should troop out en masse, wherever you are you simply can’t escape from your destiny. You had better die in the cause of the truth and truth is the integral part of the stability of any country. For this country to stabilise, truth is the only panacea.