Fears of outbreak: Ashura celebrations in the era of corona

Doaa Emam

The corona pandemic has imposed many changes on religious rituals since the beginning of the year, as prayers were suspended in mosques and churches for several months, only to return with measures to prevent the transmission of the Covid-19 corona virus.

With the Islamic month of Muharram starting off the new Hijri year, all eyes have turned to the city of Karbala in Iraq, as the Shiites commemorate the death of Imam Hussein in the year 680 CE, with millions of pilgrims from all over the world flocking to the city for prayers and celebrations.

Observers are afraid of the Shiites’ insistence on commemorating the memorial since the first night of Muharram and their flocking to the shrines in Najaf and Karbala, even though they have announced their commitment to social distance and wear masks. Meanwhile, pictures transmitted by the Karbala satellite channel show a situation of overcrowding, which threatens to imminently increase the number of people infected with the corona virus.

The Ashura celebration is expected to be one of the largest religious gatherings since the outbreak of the corona pandemic, which had forced the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to hold the Hajj pilgrimage this year on a very limited scale.

The Shiites begin mourning for Imam Hussein at the beginning of Muharram and continue for forty days, interspersed with processions and gathering of mourning, and culminating in the tenth of Muharram. Therefore, the religious authorities in Iran, Iraq and Bahrain called on citizens to adhere to home quarantine and not to crowd in processions, aiming to prevent the spread of infection, while also announcing that celebrations would be broadcast live.

Despite the Shiite clerics’ appeals to citizens to stay home, thousands went to the gates of the golden shrines in Karbala, some of them masked and wearing medical gloves, while others walked shoulder to shoulder as normal. Comments flooded social media with warnings of catastrophic consequences that could result from the celebrations.

Shiite-majority Iran is the country most affected by the corona virus in the Middle East, with more than 20,000 deaths, while Iraq comes in second place, with more than 6,200 deaths, both fueled by dilapidated health systems.

Iraqi Health Ministry spokesman Dr. Saif Al-Badr said in press statements that the recommendations of the religious authority in the city of Najaf and officials in the Ministry of Health to follow measures to prevent infection were not heard by a large number of participants in the Ashura ceremony.

Iran has also shown leniency in allowing the organization of Ashura rituals amid the worsening of the pandemic. President Hassan Rouhani said that the public mourning processions scheduled for the month of Muharram will go forward in light of the implementation of full health protocols, according to local Iranian media.

Mourning ceremonies

The mourning ceremonies continue from the beginning of the month of Muharram until the tenth, and then for another forty days after that. Black clothes are worn and gatherings are held in the Hussainiyat (places where the rituals are held) or in homes. Religious poetry and lessons on morals and Islamic values ​​are presented, along with narrations of Imam Hussein’s biography or the story of Karbala.

On the tenth of Muharram, Shiites go out in processions, believing that walking in them is a virtue and that participants receive reward.

Millions of Shiites organize collective mourning rituals every year in Iran and other countries, including Iraq, Afghanistan and India. They commemorate the death of Imam Hussein with the recitation of lamentations, flogging themselves with whips, and slapping their chests to a certain rhythm.