Muslims in Bangladesh mark Ashura with solemnity

Millions of Shia Muslims in Bangladesh and other parts of the world performed mourning rituals on Friday to mark Ashura, the holiest festival in their calendar, amid heightened security measures.

The Shia community’s main procession named Tazia was brought out from Old Dhaka's Hossaini Dalan Imambara at around 10am on Friday carrying the symbolic mausoleum of the Prophet Mohammad’s two grandsons — Hussein and Hasan.

Pilgrims, mostly dressed in black, blared traditional Ashura chants through loudspeakers.

To mark the day, the rally also paraded through Mohammadpur, Mirpur, Lalbagh, Paltan and Moghbazar.

Various religious organisations and political parties have also chalked out elaborate programmes to observe the day.

Ashura is observed on the 10th day of the lunar month Muharram in the Islamic calendar. It marks the climax of the Remembrance of Muharram when Shia Muslims commemorate the slaying of the prophet Mohammad's grandson Imam Hussein ibn Ali in 680 AD in the Battle of Kerbala.

On the first day of Muharram, the army of Caliph Yazid laid siege to Hussein and followers in the desert near Kerbala.

Hussein was killed in battle 10 days later after he had refused to pledge allegiance to Yazid.

Hussein was decapitated and his head was taken to Damascus, the seat of the Ummayad dynasty to which Yazid belonged.

or the Shia, Hussein's death symbolises confronting tyranny in the face of overwhelming odds. It is also a reminder of the rift with Sunnis, who do not revere Hussein as Shia do, over the prophet Mohammad's succession.

During the ceremony, the Shia beat their heads and chests and gash their heads with swords to show their grief and echo the suffering of Imam Hussein.

It is observed in Iraq and in other countries with sizeable Shia communities, including Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Iran, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Syria.

Several million pilgrims converge on Kerbala in Iraq for the festival each year.

The day also bears significance for some Sunni Muslims as Moses fasted on that day to express gratitude to God for liberating the Israelites from Egypt.

According to Sunni Muslim tradition, the Prophet Mohammad fasted on this day and asked other people to fast.