Holy City of Karbala Iraq 2003 : Iraqi Shi'a Observe First Ashura in 30 Years ( After Saddam ) скачать в хорошем качестве

Holy City of Karbala Iraq 2003 : Iraqi Shi'a Observe First Ashura in 30 Years ( After Saddam )

For the first time in more than three decades, Iraqi Shi'a will be able to observe the holy day of Ashura and its associated period of mourning this year without the shadow of the Ba'athist regime hanging over the ceremonies. While many Shi'a made the pilgrimage to the holy city of Karbala immediately following the war last year, this is the first time they will be free to observe the actual day of Ashura since the fall of Saddam Hussein. According to Sayyed Farqat Al Qizwini, Director of the Hilla University for Humanitarian, Scientific and Religious Studies, "Saddam Hussein absolutely prevented the observance of Ashura. He actually imprisoned many people who were practicing this ritual." "The army and the security forces used to surround Karbala and Najaf for two months to keep people from practicing the rituals," he said in a recent interview. "They used to enforce checkpoints on all roads leading to Karbala. If anyone tried to pass the checkpoint, he would have been killed or arrested." Ashura, which falls on the tenth day of the Muslim month of Muharram, commemorates the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, a seminal moment in the history of Shi'a Islam. The adherents of the Shi'at Ali became the community now known as Shi'a Muslims. According to Qizwini, "Saddam prevented the clerics from making lectures and statements about the Battle of Karbala and from referring to the memory of Imam Hussein." He added, "Most importantly, Saddam prevented anyone from having any book that had Imam Hussein's name or the story of the Battle of Karbala. He executed many young people who had a book like this." "After the liberation of Iraq, the people were allowed to do three things -- read the history of Karbala and the Battle of Karbala, listen to the lectures in the Mosques about the history of Karbala, and walk to Karbala," he said. #MediaArchives #DocumentaryArchive #JournalismArchive #Nonfiction #DocumentaryFilmmaking #IndependentFilm