Ashura Mourning Rituals to Be Held in Afghanistan’s Mazar-i-Sharif
The Shia Scholars Council in the Balkh Province said that the Roza Sharifa (holy shrine attributed to Imam Ali) in the province’s capital city, Mazar-i-Sharif, will host the mourning ceremony of Ashura.
The Islamic Imarat (the Taliban) has pledged to ensure the security of the event, the council’s chief, Seyed Sajjad Alami, said, Ava News reported.
He added that women can also take part in the ceremony while observing the Hijab rules.
Meanwhile, Shia Muslims in the province of Ghazni in southeast Afghanistan say that since capturing the province, the Taliban have shown tolerance regarding the Muharram mourning rituals.
They say the Taliban have not sought to remove the mourning symbols and flags or ban the mourning ceremonies.
Shia scholars in the province have appreciated the tolerance shown toward different ethnicities and schools of thought, stressing the need for unity among all people in Afghanistan.
According to a statement circulated on social media, seemingly in Herat, the Taliban have asked the group’s members not to interrupt ceremonies in Shia mosques and Husseiniya (religious centers).
Shia Muslims around the world mourn the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (AS), the Sayyid-ul-Shuhada (master of martyrs), in Muharram, the first month in the lunar Hijri calendar (began Friday).
The third Shia Imam (AS) and a small group of his followers and family members were martyred by the tyrant of his time - Yazid Bin Moaweya, in the battle of Karbala on the tenth day of Muharram (known as Ashura) in the year 680 AD.
