The day of Ashura is marked by Muslims as a whole, but for Shia Muslims, it is a major religious commemoration of the martyrdom at Karbala of Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.
In Sunni Islam, Ashura also marks the day that Moses and the Israelites were saved from Pharaoh by God creating a path in the Sea, and is the Islamic equivalent to Yom Kippur.
For Shia Muslims, Ashura is a solemn day of mourning the martyrdom of Hussein in 680 AD at Karbala in modern-day Iraq.
It is marked with mourning rituals and passion plays re-enacting the martyrdom. Shia men and women dressed in black also parade through the streets slapping their chests and chanting.
People in Iraq are getting ready ahead of the Shiite Muslim religious mourning period of Ashura. Mosul International Shopping Festival in Iraq is a great opportunity to buy all the necessary stuff ahead of the Shiite Muslim religious mourning period of Ashura. Women view black t-shirts sold by a peddler to Shiite Muslim pilgrims amidst preparations, men are looking for black t-shirts, emblazoned with the Shiite Muslim slogan "O Abbas", as a sign of mourning referring to the Muslim Imam Abbas ibn Ali, grandson of the prophet Mohamed.
