Ashura is a 10 day festival that marks one of the most important days in the Shi'a calendar. Sunni and Shi'ites differ in who them believe should be the Caliph. This festival marks the time when Husayn ibn Ali (the grandson of the Muhammad) and 72 companions died on the battlefield in AD 680. Husayn died in "revolt" against Yazid ibn Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan (the second Caliph of the Umayyad dynasty). Husayn and his followers alleged that Yazid was going against the teachings of Muhammad and changing the sunnah. After the companions were all killed, their bodies were mutilated. Not all Shi'a scholars approve of the blood-letting and many claim it violates Islamic law.
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