TEHRAN President Mohammad Khatami said on Saturday that Imam Hussein (AS), the third Imam of Prophet Mohammad's (S) infallible household had led an uprising to prevent deviation from the right path of Islam.

Imam Hussein, the lord of the martyrs and symbol of campaign against corruption and injustice was martyred at Karbala in modern Iraq along with his 72 companions in an unequal battle with the tyrant ruler of the time.

Addressing a mourning ceremony to mark the occasion, President Khatami said that the message of Islam is the message of freedom and salvation seeking to prepare a community in which all human beings can live with dignity and freedom.

He said that Imam Hussein (AS) had stood against those people doing injustice in the name of religion and in the name of successor to Prophet Mohammad (S). They were misusing the public wealth for their personal interests and carnal desires against whom Imam Hussein (AS) led an uprising and finally attained martyrdom, he said.

President Khatami said that Imam Hussein (AS) had sought God's satisfaction and dedicated his life for Islam, adding that martyrs of the Iraqi-imposed war and the war disabled veterans were followers of Imam Hussein (AS).

He called on the Iranian nation, including the youth and women to follow Imam Hussein (AS) and work hard to reinforce justice in the Iranian community. (IRNA)