Shia Muslims practice the solemn sacred day of Ashoura, which mark with large and bleak meetings, in the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic.
Ashoura commemorates the 7th-century murder of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, the Battle of Karbala in present-day Iraq with the army of then-Caliph Yazid, whom Hussein had refused to swear allegiance.
“Basically, it’s the story of the sacrifice of an ordinary devout figure,” said Noor Zaidi, who teaches hit him at the University of Maryland in Baltimore County and studies Shia Islam. This is (also) the story of the family love circle between Hussein and those who were with him in Karbala. Array… It also has this kind of real revolutionary component,” he said.
“What made it last so hard Array … is the fact that he has the ability to mingle with what I think other people have to get out of it.”
Ashoura Day falls on the 10th day of the Islamic month of Muharram and is preceded by days of commemoration and commemoration. Public expressions of grievance in networks are related to Shiites. For many Sunnis, Ashoura is reminiscent of more than one event, adding the exodus from Egypt led by Moses.
In Iraq, pilgrims converge in the holy city of Karbala, the site of war and the home of a shrine committed to Imam Hussein.
But with the pandemic, Iraq’s Shiite cleric, the great Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, encouraged others to grieve in other ways, such as watching commemorations online or televised from their homes.
Attendees of public commemorations must comply with fitness guidelines, adding social estrangement and dressed in masks, with caps on the number of participants in accordance with local regulations in other countries, as reported from their office.
Saif Badr, spokesman for Iraq’s Ministry of Health and Environment, welcomed al-Sistani and called for compliance with fitness regulations.
“Our opinion is clear, ” said Badr. In general, we oppose congregations in all their forms, sometimes adding devotees “because of the pandemic. Some Iraqis do not pay attention to the call to the meeting.
In Pakistan, thousands of minority Shia Muslims accumulated in parts of the country before tomorrow’s Ashoura Day amid a decrease in coronavirus deaths and infections. Speaking at a meeting of Shia Muslims in the city of Multan, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi called on others to adhere to social estrangement regulations when practicing Ashoura. Security forces have been deployed around Shiite places of worship to help secure public gatherings that have been targeted by militant teams in the past.
In interviews with The Associated Press, several Shia Muslims described how they were watching this year’s commemorations.
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NAJAF, IRAQ
On a typical day of the mourning era that leads to Ashoura Day, Sayyid Sahib al-Yasseri buys rice, meat and other food in the morning for dinners served to night memorial attendees.
Dressed in black clothing, he and others pay attention to recitations of the Qur’an, devout lectures, and lamentations. Some bury their faces in their palms while crying. Mourners beat their chests rhythmically in pain.
“There are tears and pain for Imam Hussein,” al-Yasseri said.
This year, the rituals were held outdoors, he said, and the men distributed disposable masks and disinfectant on outstretched hands.
Al-Yasseri wore a mask for coronavirus reasons, but did not skip the commemorations.
“If God wants me to get infected, I will,” he said.
Al-Yasseri estimated that around 750 more people participated on the night of the rally, fewer than in previous years due to the pandemic.
On Ashoura Day — which in Iraq falls on Sunday — at least one tradition of his will remain unchanged: donating blood.
“I make a donation to gain advantages from others,” al-Yasseri said, “and out of love for Imam Hussein.”
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NABATIYEH, LEBANON
Ashoura comes when Lebanon is shaken only by the pandemic, but also by the economic difficulties and consequences of a large explosion that ravaged its capital this month.
Amid a partial blockade of the coronavirus, Lebanon’s two largest Shiite organizations, the militant organization Hezbollah and the Amal movement of Parliament President Nabih Berri, suggested to others that they would mark Ashoura at home with television and social media.
Yasser Qameh, who for decades in the afterlife attended public gatherings each and every night of the mourning period, watched from his home this year.
“I watch it on TV or On YouTube, as long as I don’t mix with people,” Qameh said on the phone from his city in southern Lebanon, which is usually a big place in Ashoura. “The difference is like watching a football game on TV instead of being in the stadium.”
This year, Qameh said, despite the curfew, a few other people gather every night in a city square with separate masks, temperature controls and plastic chairs.
Tens of thousands of people usually attend the annual ashoura ceremonies in Nabatiyeh, and some men cut off their heads and hit their heads as blood flows from white garments to symbolize and remember the pain of Imam Hussein. These scenes are criticized by some Shia clerics who denounce the ritual.
Qameh is also abandoning some other culture this year. Normally, he distributed water, juice and a special dish called Harisa, composed of wheat and poultry or beef, to participants from other regions.
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HICKSVILLE, NEW YORK
In the United States, some Shiite communities broadcast commemorations online.
In Hicksville, on Long Island, New York, Fatima Mukhi-Siwji is unhappy that her 10-month-old daughter does not participate in the rituals.
“I grew up in the mosque,” he said, his voice cracking with emotion. “How is it intended to teach religion to our young people? How do you intend to teach (about) Imam Hussein? “
But some time before Muharram began, several Shia Muslims from other communities, along with Mukhi-Siwji’s father, joined forces to hold car commemorations to mark the instance safely, he said.
Held in the massive parking lots of a movie theater, they deliver academic sermons, poetry recitals, songs and laments as families pay attention to their cars and watch them on giant screens. Some get out of their cars and watch or interact in grief rituals while socializing, he said.
The occasions attracted many cars and, Mukhi-Siwji said, revived a sense of cordiality that was so lacking.
“It’s such an electrifying experience,” he said. “It goes through your whole body.”
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Fam reported from Winter Park, Florida and Mroue from Beirut, Lebanon. Associated Press journalist Munir Ahmed contributed from Islamabad, Pakistan.