WASHINGTON — Shiite Muslims from Northern Virginia, D.C. and Maryland held their annual religious procession to the White House on Sunday to honor their martyred leader Imam Hussain. This year’s march was led by children carrying signs delivering an anti-terrorism message.
“There’re terrorists that claim to be Muslims, but they’re not, and people need to be informed about this so they don’t get the wrong message about Muslims,” said Naveed Naqvi, a middle school student from Laurel, Maryland.
Naveed and other children carried signs that said, “We Condemn All Terrorism.” The procession drew 2,500 attendees.
This is the 25th year Shiite in the D.C. area have conducted the religious march from Dupont Circle to the White House.
While the march marks the martyrdom of Imam Hussain, the grandson of Muhammad, organizers decided to also use this year’s march as a platform to speak out against terrorism.
“We’re here to share in the American public’s grief, as we all are grieving in what happened with ISIS last week,” said Dr. Azmat Husain, a resident of Silver Spring.
The organizer of the march, Adil Rizvi, says because of the recent attacks of ISIS, it became very important that this year’s event carry the message against terrorism.
“It has to stop and the only way it can stop is all walks of life, all religions, all creeds come together and denounce it,” Rizvi says.
