Reuters Blogs

FaithWorld

Religion, faith and ethics

February 1st, 2008

Looking past the blood at Ashura

Posted by: Tom Heneghan
Tags: FaithWorld, , , ,

A Pakistani Shi’ite at Ashura rituals in Lahore, Pakistan, 20 Jan. 2008/Mohsin RazaAshura, the Shi’ite day of mourning for Mohammad’s martyred grandson Hussein, is so marked by bloody scenes of self-flagellating men that news reports about it rarely get beyond the vivid images (like our photo from Lahore on the right). Jack Fairweather has produced a fascinating short video that asks the question usually missed — what really motivates people to do this? — and follows one man who explains his feelings and joins in the ritual. This is the first part of a series on the Washington Post PostGlobal site meant “to challenge our perceptions of Islam as a monolithic and extremist creed.” If Fairweather keeps it as up close and personal as this, it should be very good.

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