The MECC Secretary General Professor Michel Abs Participates in the Ashura Ceremonies at the Invitation of the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council
He Delivers a Speech Entitled “The Purest Witness”
"These ceremonies are attitudes, standards of behavior, and ethics of leadership... Ashura is a tragedy that is repeated every day"
You can find some photos at the end of the text.
Click Here to Watch and Listen to the Speech.
Under the patronage and attendance of the Vice-President of the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council His Eminence Sheikh Ali Al-Khatib, the Council began commemorating Ashura this year, on Thursday, June 26, 2025, at the Council's headquarters in Beirut. The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Professor Michel Abs participated on Thursday, July 3, and delivered a speech entitled “The Purest Witness”, along with many personalities.
The ceremony began with a recitation of Verses from the Holy Quran, and attendees were Professor Laure Abi Khalil, Coordinator of the "Dialogue, Social Cohesion and Human Dignity" program at MECC, the Journalist Lea Adel Maamary, Media Officer and Coordinator of the Church and Media Relations at MECC, and the TV Director Johnny Antoun, Social Media Officer at MECC.
Attendees were also Religious Scholars, and political, judicial, military, educational, cultural, and social figures, as well as citizens.
In his speech, the Secretary General Professor Michel Abs noted that "today, during the Ashura Time, we are commemorating and recalling a painful time in the nation's history, one that, despite its pain, carries symbolism, meanings, and teachings. The Ashura ceremonies are being held while the nation is under destruction and fire, defending itself despite its limited resources, compared to the military, psychological, and media poisons deployed by the global deep state to subjugate or destroy this nation."
Based on the Commemoration of Ashura, Professor Abs addressed national and regional affairs, saying that "we are holding these meaningful ceremonies while our people in Gaza are suffering in their daily lives, which have been transformed into an indescribable hell, in a blatant attempt to force them to choose between two bitter choices: annihilation or departure... We are holding these ceremonies of loyalty while our people in Palestine are suffering from the oppression of the occupying forces and the hatred and violence of the settlers..."
He added, "We gather around the life of Al Hussein and the Ashura Epic, and our people in Lebanon are emerging from a brutal war that destroyed large parts of the country and displaced a part of its people. They still maintain their steadfastness, position and vision, calling the enemy an enemy... We observe the Ashura Commemoration of Hussein while the Levant—Iraq—is going through a difficult historical phase that threatens its unity, political identity, and even its civilization..."
He continued, "The Commemoration of Ashura has an educational and leadership dimension, as these ceremonies teach people the role models of those who rose up against injustice and corruption. They are attitudes, standards of behavior, and ethics of leadership... It is a tragedy that is repeated every day, in one form or another, in all parts of the world, and under different circumstances depending on the place, time, and partners in the tragedy."
He concluded, "Karbala is a call to confront injustice and arrogance on a sustainable basis, and to achieve victories over it for the sake of the triumph of truth and the spread of justice. Karbala is a call to reject the status quo, liberate society, and lead it in the path of freedom and progress. Karbala, and the renaissance of Hassan and his life, will remain a source of inspiration for the oppressed around the world, who yearn for a better life."