Yesterday, as I was painting in my geometry class, I got an unusual amount of what's app messages that filled the family groups. I could not believe it when I read the messages. A mosque in Qudaih village, twenty minutes drive from my city in Saudi was bombed! For a second my brain could not comprehend it. How could such thing happen in Saudi? One of the safest countries, but it did not only happen, but it caused 21 martyrs and over 80 injured people. 

I usually refrain from writing about politics and religion because they usually lead to useless debates, arguments and a whole load of negative emotions. For instance, I am no longer friends with the people I had really heated debates with, but today I have to speak up and write something. The event of Qatif bombing hit too close to home. I know the world has been filled with bloodshed and sadness and every time I read something similar anywhere else in the world, it pains me, but this pain is even stronger. The fact that the bombing happened in a village very close to my city makes it even worse. My grandfather our only supporter, May God protect him and prolong his life, goes to pray in the mosque daily. What if it happened where he prays? I cannot even stomach the thought. I fail to imagine the pain the daughters, the wives and the mothers are going through after the death of their loved ones. My tears fell over the youngest martyr's mother. Her pain must be greater than anyone else with her little child taken away from her so young right after his kindergarten graduation.  

What breaks my heart the most is that the Qudaih village has seen death before. Sixteen years ago it lost a bride a little girl and 75 other women and caused more than 400 injuries in a horrible fire accident. Lots of children became orphans that year. In that time, it was normal for people to hold weddings in big air conditioned tents. Unfortunately, an electrical spark caused a huge fire. The previous king, King Abdullah RIP, built a wedding hall for the city to stop people from holding weddings in tents. He gave the mangement and proceeds to the city's charity. Yesterday, that same wedding hall was used to treat the injured from the mosque bombing. An orphan girl who lost her mother and sisters in that tragic fire, lost her husband in yesterday's bombing. She is now left with her own little orphans. How can a heart bare all this pain and loss? Life is hard as it is and adding killings and wars makes it even worse.     

Sadly, the Qatif bombing was not the first attack of its kind. The start of this Arabic year, Muharam/November 2014, eight Shias were killed in a religious centre in Hasa, also in the eastern Province of Saudi by a gunman who came in during the remembrance of  Imam Hussain, the prophet's grandson. Real actions were not really taken against that terror. The person who did it -supposedly- got captured and we did not hear much about it afterwards. What is ironic is that yesterday marked the birth anniversary of Imam Hussain and more people were killed remembering him.  

ISIS claimed the attack as their own. To be honest, I am really upset that everyone refers to them as the "Islamic State." I know they gave themselves the names, but I am going to start calling them SS the Satanic State. That is what they are. Devils and demons causing deaths and spreading hate and anger. It makes my blood boil, when Islam is associated with evil or blamed for evil. It is a really peaceful religion with a book that has life guidelines and stories. It is just easy to take things out of contexts and turn it to something it is not. Religion is not to blame, but people and their dark hearts and greed should be held responsible. 

Part of me is not even surprised this happened. Especially, after all the negative fulling against the Shia in Yemen. In addition, the whole religious educational system in Saudi condemns the Shia practice. We have been taught in schools for twelve years that anything but Wahhabisim is wrong. The bombing that happened is just the materialisation of the written word we studied and memorised. The Saudi school theology books told us that Shias are nonbelievers, grave worshipers and deserve to be burnt in hellfire. When we studied that -as Shia kids- we did not care, we were in content with ourselves and our practice. Their drilling did not deteriorate us from the path we were born into and later chosen.  It is foolish to blame "exterior forces" when the problem has been growing over the years in Saudi where day after day Shias kept getting bad mouthed in all possible ways.

This blog post is not to drive a wedge between Shias and Sunnies or accuse Sunnies. I am a big believer in Muslim unity whatever they choose to practice. I have many wonderful sunni friends that I love dearly. This is a post about expressing my disappointment towards what happened and to share the Shia struggle caused by the Wahhabi group. Positive steps should be taken after this. Shias should be accepted worldwide because even if people disagree with how they practice they should let God be the judge. Encouraging Shia killings should be considered a crime. In fact, encouraging killing should always be a crime. 

May God protect us and guide us all to unity, love and creativity. 

More about this in the news: 

BBC News, Saudi Arabia attack: Islamic State claims Shia mosque bombing

The Guardian, Saudi Arabia: 20 people killed after suicide bomber strikes Shia mosque

More Photos:

From the Saudi Photographer Hussain Al Redwan's website.