| Rudaw.net

Photo Gallery

Shiites mark Ashura in holy city of Karbala

31-08-2020

21 Photos

Rudaw

Shiite Muslims, in smaller crowds compared to the previous years, flocked to the Holy Shrine of Imam Hussain and Al Abbas Mosque in Karbala on Sunday to mark Ashura.

Ashura, the tenth day of Muharram, commemorates the death of Imam Hussein, a Shiite leader and the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, in a battle fought at Karbala in 680 AD.

"I feel like Hussein has just been martyred and lost the battle," Hussein Fadhil, a taxi driver dressed all in black, told Rudaw. "I am asking him to forgive us."

"I am also pleading him to ask Allah to rescue us from this virus," he said referring to the coronavirus pandemic which has hard hit Iraq.

"All these mourners here are sacrificing their lives for God," said Qasim Mousa, another mourner.

Most years, millions of Shiite Muslims pilgrims from around the world travel to Iraq to visit a number of shrines during Muharram. This year, events are subdued, taking place during the coronavirus pandemic.

Photos: Bilind T. Abdullah/Rudaw