The Day of Ashura falls on the 10th of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic lunar calendar, which this year was Dec 27.
It is commemorated by the Shi’a as a day of mourning for the martyrdom of Hussein ibn Ali, the grandson of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, at the Battle of Karbala on 10 Muharram in the year 61 AH (October 10, 680 AD).
Sunni Muslims however do not hold this day in significance for that reason, but rather they believe that Moses fasted on that day to express gratitude to God for liberation of the Israelites from Egypt. According to Sunni Muslim tradition, Muhammad fasted on this day and asked other people to fast.
The principles of fighting back against oppression therefore figure heavily into traditions surrounding Ashura.
Last year, Ashura saw tens of thousands of mourners travel between the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf and the Imam Hussein and Imam Al Abbas shrines in Karbala.
Not a celebration, but a remembrance, Ashura is a time for Shi’ites to re-live and express extreme grief and mourning for Hussein and his family. They have passion plays, they march, they chant and they beat their chests. They flail themselves until they bleed. Their actions sometimes reach a trance-like fervor.
The most visible and evocative sign of Ashura is the procession by men and boys, stripped to the waist or wearing black robes, and flailing or scourging themselves with sticks, whips, chains, and swords until their backs and foreheads bleed. Some cut themselves with knives and razors.
While in other countries these displays are much more ritualized, one observing Ashura rites in Iraq should expect to see men – and even young boys -- drenched in their own blood.
Then, on the eleventh day, the faithful return to their homes for a period of mourning lasting 40 days. The mourning period ends with the observance of Arba’een, when many Shi’a gather in Karbala to assert their Shi’a identity. The next Arba’een, is Feb. 4.
In some Shi’ite countries and regions such as Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Lebanon and Bahrain, commemoration of Hussein ibn Ali has become a national holiday, and most ethnic and religious communities participate.
