A(nother) question for our muslim members...

free_spirit · 7 Feb 2006 at 16:32

I was walking home this evening (in Manchester) and saw a parade of people who I think were Muslims. The men were topless and beating their chests (rather violently - the bruises looked nasty!) and chanting something, and they had what looked like a shrine or an alter of some sort being wheeled along at the back of the parade, with a horse all dressed up.

Can anyone enlighten me as to what it was all about? I had a quick look on Google and thought it was possibly related to the first month of the Islamic new year - am I right?

Yas786 · 7 Feb 2006 at 16:37

They were probably Shias, a different sect in islam. What they were probably doing is celebrating Muharramm, a religious festival for them of sorts in which they celebrate the death of the Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) if im not mistaken.
I dont know much about the shias and their practices but if u look up muharram you can get more info

.

More info here:
http://www.indiaprofile.com/fairs-festivals/moharram.htm

Dr_Evil · 7 Feb 2006 at 16:40

Were they sacrificing the horse?

cleanbluesky · 7 Feb 2006 at 16:42

IIRC Shias have some very nasty practices - self-mutilation rituals that some even expect children to observe.

Pudney · 7 Feb 2006 at 16:43

Would they be allowed to sacrifice the horse?

gib786 · 7 Feb 2006 at 16:44

Spawn said:
They were probably Shias, a different sect in islam. What they were probably doing is celebrating Muharramm, a religious festival for them of sorts in which they celebrate the death of the Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) if im not mistaken.
I dont know much about the shias and their practices but if u look up muharram you can get more info .

More info here:
http://www.indiaprofile.com/fairs-festivals/moharram.htm

correct, thats all i know about it as well as im not a shia

free_spirit · 7 Feb 2006 at 16:51

It didn't look like they were about to sacrifice the horse, no.

Spawn, thanks for the info - sounds about right.

Dr_Evil · 7 Feb 2006 at 16:53

free_spirit said:
It didn't look like they were about to sacrifice the horse, no.

Now that would worry me! Why all the hassle otherwise?

Vonhelmet · 7 Feb 2006 at 16:54

Pudney@work said:
Would they be allowed to sacrifice the horse?

No real reason why not, if it was done humanely, though I don't know if the horse is supposed to get sacrificed.

Yas786 · 7 Feb 2006 at 17:05

free_spirit said:
It didn't look like they were about to sacrifice the horse, no.

Spawn, thanks for the info - sounds about right.

No problems mate, i myself dont know much about shias and their practices but they are pretty strange. Just for your info there are 2 major sects of muslims, one is the sunni's which is what i am and a lot of muslims are and the other is the shias. There are also a sect called the ismaeli's...very similar to shias if i remember correctly but again i dont know much about them and their practices.

As for the horse??, no they were not going to sacrifice a horse..there is no festival within islam shia or not that calls for a horse to be sacrificed. I guess the horse was there as a symbol of the prophets grandson, who used to ride one into battle etc....thats why it was probably decorated in ornaments.

Yas786 · 7 Feb 2006 at 17:07

Dr_Evil said:
Now that would worry me! Why all the hassle otherwise?

Because if you read my earlier post you would have clicked on the link and found out for yourself

. The hassle as you like to call it is because its a very important time for the shia muslims and this is how they celebrate it

.

@if ®afiq · 7 Feb 2006 at 17:18

cleanbluesky said:
IIRC Shias have some very nasty practices - self-mutilation rituals that some even expect children to observe.

Indeed. Self-harm is forbidden in Islam.

free_spirit · 7 Feb 2006 at 17:28

Spawn said:
No problems mate, i myself dont know much about shias and their practices but they are pretty strange. Just for your info there are 2 major sects of muslims, one is the sunni's which is what i am and a lot of muslims are and the other is the shias. There are also a sect called the ismaeli's...very similar to shias if i remember correctly but again i dont know much about them and their practices.

Am I right in thinking that there is a sect called the Suffis too? And do the different sects generally get on with each other?

Yas786 · 7 Feb 2006 at 17:34

free_spirit said:
Am I right in thinking that there is a sect called the Suffis too? And do the different sects generally get on with each other?

Yup again dont know much about them either but they tend to be a peaceful lot ie sing a lot of songs and are quite mystical in their approach to islam as a whole. But again dont take that as gospel as im nto too clued up on them either.

Umm the different sects do have problems with each other ie for instance sunnis dont really regard shias as proper muslims and shias feel the same. Take for instance iraq and their internal war...it was between shias and sunnis...Saddam was a sunni and he wanted to repress the shias completely and was doing a good job of it till the americans stepped in. Same thing with the Iran-Iraq war 25-30 yrs ago...it was basically between shias and sunnis. So yes they have major problems with one another, personally it doesnt bother me if someone is a shia or sunni...as far as im concerned we all believe in one god and that is good enough for me...although i have to admit the shias do have some extremely weird practices and festivals.

free_spirit · 7 Feb 2006 at 18:00

Thanks, I should have thought about Iraq - seems a bit of a dumb question now!

Dr_Evil · 9 Feb 2006 at 11:29

Spawn said:
Because if you read my earlier post you would have clicked on the link and found out for yourself.

Really? I guess it's easier to just ask ;-)

Spawn said:
The hassle as you like to call it is because its a very important time for the shia muslims and this is how they celebrate it.

That's really good for them. I think they should do it in their mosque though and not public..

Arcade Fire · 9 Feb 2006 at 11:33

Dr_Evil said:
That's really good for them. I think they should do it in their mosque though and not public..

Does it offend your delicate sensibilities?

merlin · 9 Feb 2006 at 11:33

@if ®afiq said:
Indeed. Self-harm is forbidden in Islam.

Crazy then, isn't it - to think that some blow themselves up, in the name of Islam.

Misguided people for sure, but maybe the "no self-harm" bit slipped their minds?

UOcUK Poopscoop · 9 Feb 2006 at 11:34

Arcade Fire said:
Does it offend your delicate sensibilities?

Probably not nice for children to see walking down the road though....

Arcade Fire · 9 Feb 2006 at 11:35

Why not?