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Ashura
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Large crowd of people in Dhaka, Bangladesh, participates in a Muharram procession, with many holding red and green flags and banners along a city street. Shi'i Muslim men wearing red headbands and black clothing sit and weep during an Ashura mourning procession in Beirut, Lebanon. Muslim Shiʿi children dressed as angels with colorful wings perform in an Ashura passion play outdoors near Kashan, Iran, with spectators and red flags in the background. A group of Shiʿi Muslim men dressed in black participate in mourning rituals, raising their hands over their heads during a remembrance ceremony for Imam Ḥusayn. A group of Shiʿi Muslim men in red vests and headbands participate in an Ashura procession, marching in formation outdoors in Dearborn, Michigan. Crowd gathers at night around an illuminated, ornate tazia replica during the Muharram procession in Junagadh, Gujarat, India.
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Large crowd of people in Dhaka, Bangladesh, participates in a Muharram procession, with many holding red and green flags and banners along a city street.
Shiʿi Muslims congregating during Ashura A mass procession of Shiʿi Muslims parading through the streets to commemorate the martyrdom of Ḥusayn on Ashura; Dhaka, Bangladesh, October 12, 2016.

Ashura

Islamic holy day
Written by
Andrew J. Newman
Personal Chair of Islamic Studies and Persian, University of Edinburgh. Author of Twelver Shi'ism: Unity and Diversity in the Life of Islam and others.
Andrew J. NewmanAll
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Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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History

Ashura, Muslim holy day observed on the 10th of Muharram, the first month of the Muslim calendar (Gregorian date variable). The term Ashura is derived from the Arabic word for the number ten (عشر, ʿashr). The word Muharram itself derives from the Arabic root ḥ-r-m, one meaning of which is “forbidden” (ḥarām). Traditionally, Muharram was one of the four sacred months when fighting was not allowed. For Shiʿi Muslims, Ashura is a day of mourning...

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