Is Shia identity more than religion? What does it actually mean to grow up Shia, and what part of that identity do we pass on to the next generation?
This conversation explores Shia Islam, Muharram, Azadari, Majlis, Karbala, Ahlulbayt and Shia culture not only as religious practices, but as memories, traditions, values and a sense of belonging that can stay with us wherever in the world we live.
From childhood memories of Muharram, black clothes, majalis, nohas, juloos, sabeel, tabarruk and families gathering together in Sahiwal and Lahore Pakistan, to a much bigger question: how does Shia identity survive when generations move away from the places and cultures where they grew up?
We discuss the relationship between religion and culture, why rituals can carry meaning beyond their immediate practice, what it means to preserve Azadari, and whether parents should give their children rules or give them roots, knowledge and the freedom to understand their faith themselves.
For Shias growing up in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and across South Asia, and for Shia communities living abroad in Canada, the UK, USA, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and around the world, this is a conversation about something many of us quietly think about:
What are we really passing on?
Not simply rituals.
Not simply memories.
But perhaps an identity.