'Ashura in the Syrian Shia Villages of Nubl and al-Zahara'

Observations this year on the ground

‘Ashura falls on 10 Muharram in an Islamic calendar year (this year from evening of 24 June until evening of 25 June) and is considered an occasion of mourning in Shia Islam because it is considered to have been the day when al-Husayn bin ‘Ali, the third Shia imam and grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, was killed at the battle of Karbala’ in 680 CE. Practices associated with ‘Ashura take place in the ten days leading up to 10 Muharram and generally continue through to the day following ‘Ashura. This year, what has the occasion and the build-up to it been like for some Syrian Shia communities?