Shi'ite Muslims mark holy day
Reuters
2012-11-25
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WARNING: Video contains graphic content
Thousands of Shi'ite Muslims stream through a mosque in the Iraqi city of Kerbala.
They are celebrating one of the holiest days on the Islamic calendar - Ashura.
It marks the death over 1,300 years ago of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed.
That led to the division of Islam into two sects - Sunni and Shi'ite - a schism that continues to plague the Islamic world.
Shi'ites across the Middle East consider Ashura a day of mourning.
Here in Lebanon, worshippers cut their heads and slap their wounds, a sign of solidarity with Hussein's suffering.
The ritual sefl-flagellation, though, is considered controversial.
Thousands of Shi'ite Muslims stream through a mosque in the Iraqi city of Kerbala.
They are celebrating one of the holiest days on the Islamic calendar - Ashura.
It marks the death over 1,300 years ago of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed.
That led to the division of Islam into two sects - Sunni and Shi'ite - a schism that continues to plague the Islamic world.
Shi'ites across the Middle East consider Ashura a day of mourning.
Here in Lebanon, worshippers cut their heads and slap their wounds, a sign of solidarity with Hussein's suffering.
The ritual sefl-flagellation, though, is considered controversial.
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