The celebration of Ashura takes place on
the tenth day of Muharram, which is the first month of the Islamic calendar.
Ashura commemorates many things originally it was designated by Muhammad as the
day of remembrance for when Noah left the Arch and when Moses freed the people
from Egypt, on this day people would fast.
Ashura now remembers the death of Huysan,
Muhammad’s grandson who died defending Islam. Among the Shi’ite faction of
Islam Ashura is a massive festival that serves as a reminder of the conflict in
Karbala, Iraq in 680 A.D. that led to the eventual split between Sunni and Shia
Muslims.
During this festival some Shi’a Muslims
publicly express their grief by flogging their backs with chains, cutting
themselves and banging their heads this is a way for them to connect to the
pain that Huysan experienced.
Many people go on pilgrimages to the shrine
dedicated to Huysan in Karbala. However these celebrations have been very
dangerous over the last few years, they were hammered with bomb attacks shortly
after Saddam Hussein was removed from power in Iraq.
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