Ashoura

Iran, 2013

Documenting Taziah, an annual event in many Muslim countries to commemorate Husayn ibn Ali, the third Imam for Shia Muslims.

Ashoura is an Islamic holiday that occurs on the tenth day of Muharram, the first month in the Islamic lunar calendar. Ashoura coincides with the date on which the Battle of Karbala took place, resulting in the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a member of the Household of Muhammad; for Shia Muslims, it is thus preeminently an occasion for mourning, often marked by commemorative processions. Furthermore, according to Muslim tradition, it marks the day in which God saved the prophet Moses (Musa) and his people from Pharaoh by parting the Red Sea; for Sunni Muslims, it is therefore primarily an occasion for supererogatory fasting. In North African folk traditions, the day is traditionally an occasion for celebration, often featuring dancing and masquerades.