Shiite Muslims mark holy day of Ashura with mourning

TEHRAN

Iranian Shiite Muslim women pray during Ashoura mourning ritual, commemorating the 7th century martyrdom of Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Hussein, in the battle of Karbala in present-day Iraq, at the old main bazaar of Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, July 16, 2024.

Shiite Muslims across the globe have observed Ashoura, an annual commemoration mourning the seventh-century martyrdom of a grandson of the Prophet Mohammed that gave birth to their faith.

The rift between Islam's two main sects deepened after Sunnis killed Imam Hussein bin Ali in battle in the Iraqi city of Karbala, south of Baghdad.

It continues to this day to play a key role in shaping the identity of Shiites, who represent over 10 percent of the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims.

In the Shiite community, Ashoura is viewed as a symbol of struggle against injustice and tyranny. Participants usually wear black and set up black funeral tents, a sign of mourning, while carrying red flags that represent Hussein's blood.

Clerics recount the story of his death as Shiite Muslims cry and beat their chests.

Over 1,340 years after Hussein’s death, Tehran and other cities across Iran were adorned with symbols of piety and repentance.

Red flags represented Hussein’s blood, black funeral tents and clothes indicated mourning, and processions of chest-beating and self-flagellating men expressed fervor. Some sprayed water over the mourners in the intense heat.

Iranian state TV reported that 6 million Iranian pilgrims traveled to the Iraqi city of Karbala, where Hussein is entombed in a gold-domed shrine.

In the southern suburbs of Beirut, where Hezbollah has a strong presence, youth scouts held portraits of the militant group's leader Hassan Nasrallah, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and prominent Lebanese Shiite cleric Moussa al-Sadr who has been missing since 1978.

Thousands attended the procession which paid tribute to hundreds of Hezbollah militants killed in monthslong clashes with the Israeli military in southern Lebanon, many waving the group’s yellow flags.

In Iraq, thousands of Shiite Muslim pilgrims commemorated Ashoura in Karbala at Hussein’s shrine, the largest Islamic gathering except for the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.