PM Modi To Attend ‘Ashura Mubaraka’ Commemorating Imam Hussain’s Martyrdom 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend Ashra Mubaraka, which is basically the commemoration of the martyrdom of Imam Hussain. The event is being organised by the Dawoodi Bohra Muslim community.

The event, scheduled in Indore on 14 September, will also be attended by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. On the occasion, a speech will be delivered by Dr Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, the spiritual head of the Dawoodi Bohra community.

Husain was a grandson of Prophet Muhammad and the son of the Ali Ibn Abi Talib, the first Shia Imam. He is famous for challenging the Yazid, a caliph who is believed to be a tyrant. Owing to his defiance of Yazid, he was challenged in war at a place called Karbala. When he died fighting the Yazidi forces, he was immortalised as a defender of true Islam.

Hussain is highly regarded by Shia Muslims for refusing to pledge allegiance to Yazid, the Umayyad caliph, because he considered the rule of the Umayyads unjust.

Moharram is observed as the day Husain was martyred.

There are two major sects in Islam, the Sunnis and the Shias. The separation of the two groups started after the death of the Prophet. The majority believed that his rightful successor was his father-in-law and close friend, Abu Bakr, but a small group believed Muhammad’s successor should be Ali ibn Abi Talib which has led to the two sects branching out over the centuries.