Muslim societies make ashoure for celebration

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

The tradition of making ashoure brings the whole society of Kahramanmaraş together. A total of 20,000 people were served ashoure in the city. DHA photo

The tradition of making ashoure brings the whole society of Kahramanmaraş together, according to Anatolia news agency. The neighborhood has continued its traditional ashoure gatherings for 12 years.

The day, known as Ashoura, is the most impassioned day of the year for Shiite Muslims, representing when one of the faith’s most revered figures, Imam Hussein, was martyred in battle. Hundreds of thousands of Shiites who flocked to his resplendent, gold-domed shrine to commemorate him this year on Nov. 25 found the site radically changed, according to Associated Press

To celebrate the Ashoura a total of 20,000 people were served ashoure and the crowd later gathered to give messages of peace to the world. The shrine of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, is currently seeing its most extensive renovation since the 17th century. The construction is part of a push by Iraq’s Shiite rulers to reinvigorate sacred shrines long neglected under former dictator Saddam Hussein. The renovations are a reflection of the community’s steadily growing pride and power since the fall of their former dictatorship.

Now worshippers find the shrines’ minarets coated in gold and - in the most dramatic change - the sweeping plaza surrounding the mosque has been covered with a series of domes to provide shade from the hot sun in the desert city of Karbala.

However, not everyone is happy with the changes. Five experts on the shrine, including three who provided input on individual parts of the renovation process, say the drama of the shrine has been lost in the recent renovations.

The covering of the once-open plaza, they argue, ruined the visual experience.