TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Shiite Muslims in Iran and elsewhere on Tuesday marked Ashoura, a commemoration of the martyrdom in the 7th century of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Hussein, who gave life to their faith.
More than 1,340 years after Hussein’s death, Tehran and other cities in Iran were decorated with symbols of piety and repentance. Red flags represented Hussein’s blood, black funeral tents and clothing indicated mourning, and processions of men beating their chests and whipping themselves expressed their enthusiasm. Some sprayed water on mourners in the intense heat.
Iranian state television reported that 6 million Iranian pilgrims traveled to the Iraqi city of Karbala, where Hussein is buried in a shrine with a golden dome.
In the Omani capital Muscat, a shooting in a Shiite mosque killed five people and wounded dozens on Monday night. Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned the attack.
Shiites represent more than 10 percent of the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims and see Hussein as the rightful successor to the Prophet Muhammad. Hussein’s death in a battle by Sunnis in Karbala, south of Baghdad, created a deep rift in Islam and continues to shape Shiite identity to this day.
Thousands of Shiite Muslims gathered in some of Pakistan’s largest cities and were seen beating their chests and lashing themselves with knives attached to chains. Authorities deployed extra police along the routes the processions will take on Wednesday.
Shiites are a minority in predominantly Sunni Muslim Pakistan, and Sunni militants view them as apostates deserving of death. Shiites have been attacked by extremist Sunni militants in recent years.
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This story corrects the day of the shooting in Oman. Associated Press writer Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Pakistan, contributed.
