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The Deadly Sacrifice at Hawkes Bay

Shumaila Jaffery travels to Hawkes Bay to discover what happened when an extreme sacrifice in the name of the Shia Islamic faith led to the deaths of 18 men, women and children

In February 1983, a group of 42 Shia devotees left a quiet village in the Chakwal district of Pakistan and embarked on an epic journey to Karbala in Iraq. This was no ordinary pilgrimage but had been ordained by Mahdi, the last spiritual leader or Imam of Shia faith. His instructions were communicated to the faithful in miraculous messages channeled through an 18 year old woman.

The caravan left in two trucks on the 1300 kilometre journey to the port city of Karachi where they were to cross the Arabian Sea for Iraq. What happened next is a story of extreme sacrifice in the name of the Shia Islamic faith and would result in the deaths of 18 men, women and children.

In this programme reporter Shumaila Jaffery returns to their village before she travels to Hawkes Bay to discover what really happened on that moonlit night four decades ago. She tracks down survivors to explore if what the sacrifice of the devoted may tell us about Shia Islam today, asks; ‘could something like this ever happen again’?

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27 minutes

Last on

Sun 31 Jul 2022 23:32GMT

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  • Fri 29 Jul 2022 03:32GMT
  • Fri 29 Jul 2022 04:32GMT
  • Fri 29 Jul 2022 12:32GMT
  • Sat 30 Jul 2022 15:32GMT
  • Sun 31 Jul 2022 08:32GMT
  • Sun 31 Jul 2022 09:32GMT
  • Sun 31 Jul 2022 23:32GMT

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