Blood donated at mosques on Day of Ashura

Tuesday saw the Day of Ashura, the tenth day of the Muharram month. Religious ceremonies were held and blood was donated at mosques throughout the country to mark the occasion.

The Taza Pir Mosque told AssA-Irada that 170 people had donated blood at the mosque. About 100 people joined the blood donation campaign organized at the Juma Mosque in the Old City to assist thalassemia-affected children.

The goal of the blood donation campaign on the Day of Ashura is to discourage religious fanatics from harmful rituals associated with this day – believers beat themselves with chains on their backs and heads to draw blood. The Caucasus Clerical Body passed a special decision in this respect in 2001 and as a result of these measures, the harmful tradition is seen less and less nowadays.

On the Day of Ashura, Imam Hussein and his successors heroically fought for the preservation of the Islamic religion. They were killed by Khalifa Yezid’s army in the Kerbala plain of Iraq in 680 BC.*