Shi'ites celebrate Ashoura in Bangladesh, Iraq
by Reuters
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Shi'ite Muslims celebrate Ashoura Tuesday on the 10th day of the holy month of Muharram.
In the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, devotees marched through the streets- some performed self flagellation.
The day commemorates the slaying of the Prophet Mohammad's grandson, Imam Hussein, at the battle of Kerbala, Iraq in 680 AD.
In Kerbala itself, thousands of Shi'ite pilgrims dressed in black attended services at the golden-domed Imam Hussein shrine.
During the ritual, Shi'ites beat their heads and chests and gash their heads with swords to show their grief and echo the suffering of Imam Hussein.
Security forces around the mosque are on alert for possible attacks by Islamic State militants, who regard Shi'ites as infidels.
In the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, devotees marched through the streets- some performed self flagellation.
The day commemorates the slaying of the Prophet Mohammad's grandson, Imam Hussein, at the battle of Kerbala, Iraq in 680 AD.
In Kerbala itself, thousands of Shi'ite pilgrims dressed in black attended services at the golden-domed Imam Hussein shrine.
During the ritual, Shi'ites beat their heads and chests and gash their heads with swords to show their grief and echo the suffering of Imam Hussein.
Security forces around the mosque are on alert for possible attacks by Islamic State militants, who regard Shi'ites as infidels.