(14 Jul 2024)
++CORRECTION: THE STORY HAS BEEN RESENT TO CORRECT THE DATE OF ASHOURA THIS YEAR IN THE STORYLINE++
IRAQ ASHOURA
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
LENGTH: 2:17
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Baghdad, Iraq – 12 July 2024
1. Various of Shiite Muslims in Sadr City in costumes to re-enact the events of the 7th-century killing of Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Imam Hussein
2. Mural of Shiite clerics Mohammed al-Sadr and Musa al-Sadr
3. Various of ceremony
4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ali Salman, Sadr City resident:
"Hussein fought for reforms and this place is about reforms. From here, we spread love to the people and love for the whole of Iraq. The Sunnis, the Christians, Yazidis and the Sabeans are all our brothers because Hussein called for unity, freedom and to not be submissive."
5. Various of mourners dressed in black, performing ceremonial chest-beating, an act symbolizing sharing the pain with Imam Hussein
6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Haji Hussein, Sadr City resident:
"After the fall (of Saddam Hussein in 2003), we were able to hold our ceremonies, organize volunteering camps and practice self-beatings. Praise be to God, there is more openness now. And hopefully, we are headed for the better. There are more ceremonies and there is more awareness (about Imam Hussein) because Hussein is an idea, a revolution and a response to the unjust."
7. Various of volunteers preparing free food for visitors
8. Various of volunteers handing out food
9. People gathering
STORYLINE:
In the lead-up to the day of Ashoura, hundreds of Shiite Muslims in Baghdad’s Sadr City are taking part in remembrance ceremonies to grieve the 7th-century martyrdom of Imam Hussein, Prophet Muhammad’s grandson.
In a parade in Sadr City on Friday, the faithful re-enacted the events of the killing of the revered Imam in 680 A.D. during a battle in Karbala in present-day Iraq.
They performed ceremonial chest-beatings in a symbolic expression of their desire to share Hussein’s pain on the day of his killing and to highlight the depth of their grief.
"Hussein fought for reforms and this place is about reforms. From here, we spread love to the people and love for the whole of Iraq," said Ali Salman, who took part in a remembrance ceremony on Friday.
Ashoura is the 10th day of the Islamic month of Muharram, which is one of the holiest months for Shiite Muslims.
The mourning reaches its peak on Ashoura, which coincides with July 16 this year.
Before 2003, under the authoritarian rule of Saddam Hussein, Shiites were restricted from performing Ashoura-related rituals.
"After the fall (of Saddam Hussein in 2003), we were able to hold our ceremonies, organize volunteering camps and practice self-beatings," said another faithful, Haji Hussein from the Baghdad suburb of Sadr City.
Imam Hussein is one of Shia Islam’s most important figures and was seen by his followers as the rightful heir of the prophet’s legacy.
When he refused to pledge allegiance to the Umayyad caliphate, he was killed in battle.
His killing at the hands of a rival Muslim faction embodies the rift between the Sunni and Shiite sects of Islam and continues to shape the identity of the minority branch of Islam today.
AP video shot by Ali Jabar
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