Muharram Violence in Iraq, Iran, Pakistan

Informed Comment by Juan Cole | Dec. 27, 2009 (News Analysis)

(Blog Post) The background for the big news in Iraq, Iran and Pakistan on Saturday and Sunday is the Shiite mourning season. Saturday was the 9th of the month of Muharram and Sunday is the 10th. These ritual dates in the Shiite calendar commemorate the surrounding and then killing of Husayn b. Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, at Karbala in Iraq in 680 by the armies of the Umayyad caliph Yazid. During Muharram Shiites tell the story of the passion of Imam ... Full Story »

Posted by Kaizar Campwala - via Informed Comment

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Subjects: World, Religion
Topics: Iran, Islam
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# Tweets: 10 (as of 2009-12-27)
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Posted by: Posted by Kaizar Campwala - Dec 27, 2009 - 12:00 AM PST
Reviewed by: Kaizar Campwala (review), Peter Henry (review), Randy Morrow (review), Warrior Wheatman (review)
Content Type: Blog Post
Edit Lock: This story can be edited
Edited by: Kaizar Campwala - Dec 27, 2009 - 10:11 AM PST

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Kaizar Campwala
3.8
 by Kaizar Campwala - Dec. 27, 2009

Cole succinctly explains the politicization of Ashura, a holy day for Shi'a Muslims. See the linked PBS story, Ashura 101, for a more in depth explanation.

Kaizar posted this story.
See Full Review » (11 answers)
Peter Henry
4.6
 by Peter Henry - Dec. 27, 2009

Anything that Juan Cole writes on the Middle East is worth reading - one only wishes the generals and the Bush Administration officials who were so keen to go to war would have been willing to listen to him before the Iraq catastrophe occurred.

See Full Review » (11 answers)
Randy Morrow
3.2
 by Randy Morrow - Dec. 28, 2009
See Full Review » (10 answers)
Warrior Wheatman
3.0
 by Warrior Wheatman - Dec. 29, 2009

A quick bit of news for this holiday; Looks more like a hook for his book (Juan Cole). The third comment (2:59AM anonymous) is a must read. (appearance of the Mahdi)

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  • Ashura 101

    Frontline by Muhammad Sahimi | Dec. 27, 2009 (Special Report)
    December 18 marked the beginning of the month of Moharram. Shiites, and in particular Iranians, have been mourning the killing of their third Imam, Hossein, the quintessential ...
    Posted by Kaizar Campwala
    4.2
     See Reviews »

  • At Least 4 Dead as Iranians Fight Police in Streets

    New York Times by Robert F. Worth | Dec. 27, 2009 (News Report)
    Iranian police opened fire on protesters in Tehran on Sunday, killing at least four people, including a nephew of the opposition leader Mir Hussein Moussavi, as vast crowds of ...
    Posted by Kaizar Campwala
    3.9
     See Reviews »
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