February 19th 2005 Is Ashurah

Photo from 2004 post to Indybay by Tristan

Ashurah commemorates the death of Husayn bin Ali, the grandson of the prophet Muhammad and the third Imam of the Shi'as, at the Battle of Karbala in the year 61 AH (AD 680). Shi'a Muslims consider Husayn (son of Muhammad's daughter Fatima Zahra with Ali ibn Abu Talib) a rightful successor of Muhammad. Many Shi'a make pilgrimages on Aashurah to the Mashhad al-Husayn, the shrine in Karbala, Iraq that is traditionally held to be Husayn's tomb. Some Shi'as also express mourning by beating themselves on the back with chains. This is intended to connect them with Husayn's suffering and death as an aid to salvation on the Day of Judgment. Husayn's martyrdom is widely interpreted by Shi'a as a symbol of the struggle against injustice, tyranny, and oppression. Aashurah is also commemorated by Muslims as the traditional date on which Noah's ark came to rest, the Prophet Abraham was born and the Kaaba was built in Mecca. It was also a fast day for the Jews of Medina, in remembrance of their salvation from the Pharaoh of Egypt.
Read More On ShiaNews.com | Drabuzzi | Democracy Now: Pilgrimage and Protest, the Shia of Iraq