Religious Mourning Maharram Begins October 3

Sheikh Allahshukur Pashazadeh issued a fatwa (recommendation) in connection with the approach of the month of mourning for the Shiites - Maharram.

He noted the importance that religious ceremonies should be conducted in accordance with the laws of the state, on which the akhunds and imams received the proper instructions.

The Maharram month will start on 3 October and the peak of the mourning - Ashura will be celebrated on 12 October.

Sheikh urged the faithful to abandon the ceremonies of self-torture Shakhsey-Wachsey (self-flagellation with chains to the blood) and instead to donate blood for patients.

In his fatwa, Sheikh called on religious leaders to prevent religious discord between various trends and to prevent using religion as a political tool.

* Ashura is the 10th day of Maharram. On this day in 680 AD, in the desert near the town of Karbala, Iraq the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad and the son of Imam Ali, Hussein, and a group of his supporters were killed in an unequal battle with the Umayyad.

The followers of Imam Ali (Shiites) believe Hussein martyr and annually celebrate Ashura, as a universal mourning. However, for the Sunnis Hussein was a mere mortal. -05D-