During a series of ceremonies commemorating the month of Muharram in the Shiite Hadi Institute Youth Community Center in Dearborn, Michigan, on July 7 and 8, 2024, Imam Usama Abdulghani accused the Israeli military of skinning Palestinians and harvesting their organs, seen in a video published by MEMRI (The Middle East Media Research Institute) on Thursday.

Abdulghani stated, “There are a group of people in this world who, for 270 days, are facing the worst kind of atrocities imaginable. Now, the Yazids and Shemirs of today would like you and I to believe history began on October 7. No, history did not begin on October 7. These are people who regularly describe their military incursions as ‘mowing the lawn,’ so when you see them skinning the Palestinians or harvesting their organs or butchering…so imagine a group of people surrounded for so long by these kinds [of people], the worst of Allah’s creation.”

The tenth day of Muharram is Ashura, the holiday commemorating the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE. On this day, according to Islamic history, Muhammad’s grandson Hussein and his family were killed by Muslim forces loyal to a different individual in pursuit of leadership.

The caliphate of Yazid ibn Mu’awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, known as Yazid I, was characterized by the death of Muhammad’s grandson and the start of the Second Fitna, a period of general disorder and civil war. 

Abu al-Sabigha Shamir ibn Dhi al-Jawshan, known as Shemir, was the Arab military commander who killed Muhammad’s grandson.

Earlier in his speech, the Michigan Imam praised Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah for his piety and knowledge and quoted Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in support of the supreme leader. 

Support for terrorist leaders

“When we are raising these children, who will be the soldiers of the Mahdi, we know what we are looking for…Inshallah, we are hoping to give our children a fighting chance to be in the army of the Mahdi,” Imam Abdulghani began. The Mahdi is a figure that appears at the end of the world to rid the world of injustice and evil. The Mahdi Army was an Iraqi Shia terrorist organization created by Muqtada al-Sadr in June 2003 and disbanded in 2008.

“So we want our children to be able to understand when they hear [Hezbollah leader] Hassan Nasrallah say that we are in Karbala, we are remembering Karbala, and we are in Karbala. We want our kids, the children, to get it, to understand,” Abdulghani stated.

“When somebody is at the level of piety and knowledge like Hassan Nasrallah when he says a statement like that, is he not aware of the hadiths that talk about the status of Hussein?” Abdulghani then rhetorically asked.

“Why does he say that Imam Khamenei is the ‘Hussein of the time?’ Why does the [Iranian Supreme] Leader say – may Allah protect him and keep him for us until he takes us to the Mahdi. Why does the Leader say that the war in Gaza isn’t a war between Gaza, Hamas, and Israel, this is Truth vs. Falsehood, all of faith vs. all of arrogance. Why would they say these things? Why do they connect the dots?” the Imam added. 

Michigan State and Coach Jonathan Smith are entering what most expect to be a difficult season. Coach Smith and his coaching staff are taking over a messy situation in East Lansing, but they have already begun to turn things around for Michigan State’s football program. 

It has been a few years since Michigan State reached a bowl game, and many do not believe this will be the year they break that streak. However, Smith and Michigan State can do so this season with good coaching, good play on the field, and a little luck. While they have a four-game stretch that no team in the country would want to play, they still have six very winnable games on the schedule. 

Arguably, the most challenging aspect of a new coaching hire is the new coaching staff recruiting their desired players and then getting the most out of those players on the field. Smith and his coaching staff had a rough start in the transfer portal but recovered nicely. They’ve also done a solid job on the recruiting trail, nearly filling their 2025 recruiting class and getting started on the 2026 recruiting class. 

Smith and his coaching staff have taken care of nearly everything they can off the field this offseason. Soon, they will have to perform well as a team on the gridiron. A critical aspect of recruiting is on-field performance. Many schools host recruits during big games and want to perform well in those games so the recruits can get an accurate idea of what to expect if they commit and are enticed to sign with that school.

This is one of the most critical aspects of what a bowl appearance in Smith’s first season at the helm could do for him and his coaching staff. College football programs are built on recruiting, and potential recruits want to play for a winner. 

While Michigan State will undoubtedly take its fair share of losses in the first year under Smith, a bowl bid would be a massive success for him and his coaching staff. It would give them even more of a pitch to recruits of the impending turnaround for Michigan State football.

Smith and his coaching staff can tell recruits their hopes and plans for a turnaround, but a bowl bid in his very first season would be all the proof he needs of what is coming for Michigan State’s football program. It would be immediate proof that Michigan State is headed in the right direction. A bowl bid would say more to potential recruits than any words or sales pitch Smith and his coaching staff could come up with.

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