For centuries, Shia Muslims have commemorated Ashura, a holy day that recalls a battle in 7th-Century Iraq between an unjust ruler and Imam Hussain, the grandson of Islam's prophet.
Hussain lost the battle and was killed, but his struggle for freedom is remembered every year on Ashura, which falls on Tuesday this year for Shias in metro Detroit. Across Michigan, thousands of Shias are to gather today in mosques to hear stories about the battle and the meaning of justice. Metro Detroit has one of the highest concentrations of Shia services in the U.S., with speakers from around the world visiting during Ashura to deliver lectures.
This year, Ashura is taking on a special significance because Shias see their struggles against ISIS as analagous to the 7th-Century struggles that Imam Hussain fought against a tyrant named Yazid. Shias say that just as followers of Imam Hussain were beheaded and enslaved in battle, victims of ISIS now are being similarly beheaded, enslaved, and killed. ISIS, also known as ISIL or the Islamic State, views Shias as heretics and has targeted them and others for killings.
"Ashura is repeating itself," said Imam Husham Al-Husainy, an Iraqi-American who leads the Karbalaa Islamic Education Center in Dearborn. "It's a historical event that has reality today."
