What’s “Aashura”?
Shiite festival where they slash themselves on their heads, beat their heads so the blood runs down their faces and shout to Allah as they march in the streets
Ashura is on Wednesday, January 7th. It is the most sacred Shi’ite day of mourning the anniversary of the death of Husayn bin Ali (the Shia patriarch), the grandson of Muhammad.
Historically, this is the day Sunnis attack Shias as apostates (Karbala 2004, Bridge of the Imams 2005). Ashura marchers bloody and beat themselves to show piety.
Us infidels have been pretty safe on that day so far.
Wednesday is also the Coptic and Orthodox Christian Christmas.
There will be a Shia march on Park Avenue or Madison Avenue like last year.
Lots of NYPD security, though.
This would be an ideal opportunity for AQ to hit both the Shias and America with suicide/car bombers.
With the death of Ali, the Sunni/Shi’i schism started. He was murdered. There are no ‘Rashidun’ (rightly guided Caliphs) after him. A war followed his death during which the Umayyads took over (Syria).
The Shi’i further divided into 7ers and 12ers, depending on which branch you followed. The Caliphate broke apart after the Abbasids came from Persia/Iran, and ruled until Genghis Khan destroyed them, ending with the burning of the library at Alexandria.
Commemorating Aashura is really important to Iran/all of the Shi’a.
Have studied the culture since the early 1960s myself.
You don't believe that? Then click on the link.