![]() ![]() The Afghan mourners struck a defiant tone. They whipped themselves with knife-edged chains to the point of blood splattering onto the streets. They also banned major processions for fear of violence after a string of bombings targeting Shia-dominated areas.ĭespite the threat of attacks, hundreds of frenzied Shias turned up on the streets of Kabul to beat their heads and chests in unison. However, they did not designate Ashura a national holiday this year, as Afghanistan’s authorities have in the past. ![]() The Taliban have encouraged Shias to carry out their devotions. The Taliban shut down roads leading to Shia neighbourhoods and mosques in Afghanistan. Pakistani police were out in force along procession routes. In Afghanistan and Pakistan, authorities cut mobile phone services in key cities holding commemorations for fear of militant bombings. Over 1,340 years after Hussein’s martyrdom, Baghdad, Tehran, Islamabad and other major capitals in the Middle East were adorned with symbols of Shia piety and repentance: red flags for Hussein’s blood, symbolic black funeral tents and black dress for mourning, processions of men and boys expressing fervour in the ritual of chest beating and self-flagellation with chains. Hussein’s death in battle at the hands of Sunnis at Karbala, south of Baghdad, ingrained a deep rift in Islam and continues to this day to play a key role in shaping Shia identity. Shias represent over 10% of the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims and view Hussein as the rightful successor to the Prophet Muhammad. Repeated bombings have rattled Afghanistan’s ethnic minority Hazara Shias, who previously experienced persecution under the Taliban and fear their new rulers - who seized power a year ago, as US and NATO troops withdrew - will let violence continue against their community. With power split in Lebanon among the country’s religious sects, Ashura presents an opportunity for Lebanon’s Shias to show force.Ĭrowds of mourners were thin in Kabul, where the country’s Shias have suffered a wave of brazen attacks by the local Islamic State affiliate, which has tried to undermine the new Taliban government. Shia Muslims were to mark the holy day on Tuesday in Iraq and also in Lebanon, where a major procession that typically shuts down Beirut’s biggest suburb. In the past, bloody attacks have marred the festival across in the Middle East, as Sunni extremists who view the Shias as heretics seize on the holy day to target large gatherings of mourners. Security forces, particularly in Taliban-run Afghanistan, were on high alert for any violence. Millions of Shia Muslims - from Iran to Afghanistan and Pakistan - were marking the festival of Ashura on Monday, one of the most emotional occasions in their religious calendar, commemorating the 7th century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Hussein. ![]()
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