Iraqi women in tears during Ashura

By Abdul Raheem Ali, Special From Iraq

BAGHDAD, March 14 (IslamOnline.net) – With a looming military aggression by the world’s sole superpower hanging over their heads and tough living conditions inflicted by the 12-year economic sanctions, Iraqis celebrating the Day of Ashura praying to Allah to spare them the scourge of a any war.

Falling on the 10th day of the Islamic lunar month of Muharram, the Day of Ashura is certainly a sad day in the history of Islam.

The grandson of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) Imam Al-Husain along with many members of his family were brutally massacred in Kerbela on Ashura in the year 61 of Hijrah.

In Iraq, the celebration of Ashura was marked on Thursday, March 13, by thousands of Shiites who flocked to the provinces of Kerbela, al-Najaf, al-Kufa and Baghdad to visit sacred shrines.

Shiites also hoisted black flags on their buildings in a symbolic gesture of deep sadness at the death of Imam Al-Husain.

Strangely people take up the occasion to rule out the specter of war.

“A country where Imam Al-Husain is buried could not be attacked,” boasted a taxi driver.

As the case with every Ashura, hundreds of bowls of food were placed outside Iraqi homes where people gathered in a unique festive atmosphere despite mounting fears of the potential U.S.-led war.

Iraqis spend the first ten days of Muharram awake all night to celebrate the religious occasion and slaughter animals to feed the poor, Abdul Raheem Hamel, an Iraqi citizen, told IslamOnline.net.

“All Iraqi families, whether Shiites or Sunnis, gather during Ashura to enjoy tasty food,” said Ali Fouad, a Muslim Sunni.

“There is a general sense of sadness felt in the country during the day. People ban wedding ceremonies and parties during the day. Some hardliners even turn off their TV sets in a show of grief for the murder of Imam Al-Husain,” he added.

However, Muslim scholars ruled that beside fasting and remembering the tragic event, there is no other mourning required on these days.

They stressed there is nothing wrong in holding wedding ceremonies or any other parties on this day or in the month of Muharram as such.

All days belong to Allah and Muslims should not take any superstitions from any months or days, the scholars said.

In the shrine of Imam Moussa Al-Kazem in Baghdad, hundreds of thousands  gathered for the occasion, some weeping and others praying.

“People still see Al-Husain as a symbol of revolution against despotism, injustice and oppression,” Kamal al-Sharqawi, an Iraqi journalist, told IslamOnline.net.

He asserted, however, that the modern rituals of the Day of Ashoura differ from those of the past.

“Thirty years ago, Shiites in Najav and Kerbela used to stage marches although the first ten days of Muharram that include slapping their faces and reciting sad poems lamenting the death of Imam Al-Husain,” Al-Sharqawi recalled.

“In the past, Shiites had the habit of using chains to hit and hurt themselves,” he said, adding these rituals vanished from today’s Iraq, though still present in other countries.