Ashura Day: Why Shia Muslims mutilate themselves & their children (WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES)
![Ashura Day: Why Shia Muslims mutilate themselves & their children (WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES)](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/files/2015.10/article/562d343dc361884d708b45f6.jpg)
Blood has been spilt as Shia Muslims marked the Day of Ashura, commemorating the death of the Prophet Mohammed’s grandson, Imam Hussein, with mass self-flagellation ceremonies.
Thousands of men took to the streets of Iraq, Afghanistan, India, Lebanon and other countries on Saturday, cutting themselves with swords, knives and sharp chains.
![RT](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/files/2015.10/original/562d3501c46188c4508b460e.jpg)
It wasn’t only grownups who participated in the brutal ritual, as video from the southern Indian city of Hyderabad shows toddlers having their foreheads cut by relatives.
The self-flagellations are intended to emulate the suffering of Hussein, who lost his life fighting the Umayyad Caliphate in 680 AD in Karbala, near Baghdad in Iraq.
![RT](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/files/2015.10/original/562d3855c361882a7c8b460c.jpg)
The body of the Muslim prophet’s grandson was then mutilated by his killers, leading to his martyrdom.
![RT](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/files/2015.10/original/562d3a15c46188274b8b45f1.jpg)
It happened on the tenth day of the Islamic month of Muharra, and Ashura has been observed on this day annually for 1,300 years.
Many historians believe that Hussein’s death was a turning point that led to the split of Islam into Shia and Sunni sects.
![RT](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/files/2015.10/original/562d3b9dc3618884768b4609.jpg)
The self-flagellations on the Day of Ashura have been heavily criticized, with many Shia clerics encouraging believers to donate their blood to hospitals instead.
![RT](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/files/2015.10/original/562d39c0c46188be508b4613.jpg)
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