Shiite Muslims in Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan mark Ashoura

By ANMAR KHALIL
Associated Press

KARBALA, Iraq (AP) — Shiites in Iraq, Lebanon and Pakistan have marked Ashoura with chanting, parading and beating their chests in one of the most important dates on the religious calendar. Ashoura commemorates the 7th century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Hussein. The symbols of Shiite piety and penitence blanketed major cities in Iraq on Tuesday, where Hussein was believed killed at the battle of Karbala, south of Baghdad, in 680 A.D. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people converge on Karbala, some 80 kilometers, or 50 miles, south of Baghdad, to observe the solemn holy day. The public rituals of Ashoura often fuel sectarian tensions in places where Islam’s two main sects both reside.