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Ashura
The Day of Ashura (also Aashoora and other spellings) is the 10th day of Muharram in the Islamic calendar. It marks the climax of the Remembrance (but not the end) of the Islamic month of Muharram. In Indonesia the commemoration is known as Tabuik or Tabut.
Celebrating Ashura in Trinidad (where it is known as Hosay) in 1884 resulted in 22 deaths when it was outlawed by the British.
The regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq saw the Shi’a commemorations as a threat and banned Ashura being observed for many years. Ashura commemoration has also been seen as a threat during the Islamic Revolution in Iran, and in the Lebanon and Bahrain.
For Shi’a Muslims Ashura commemorates the death of Husayn (Hussain) bin Ali, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, at the Battle of Karbala in the year 61HA – AD680. As such it is a day of devout mourning.
Many Muslims make a pilgrimage to the Tomb of Husayn in Karbala (Iraq) on 10th Muharram and beat their chests – Matham – to connect with Husayn’s suffering and death. Shi'as regard Husayn’s martyrdom as a symbol of the struggle against injustice, tyranny and oppression.
Sunni communities within Islam also celebrate Ashura, but for a different reason, related to when Muhammad entered Medina and found the Jews fasting.
To the Sunni the significance of Husayn’s death is not as central to the faith as it is to the Shi’a.
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