Muharram to start tomorrow, Ashura on Jan 20

New Delhi, Jan 10 (UNI) Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, will begin from Friday, January 11 as the new moon was not sighted today.

Muharram will commence from Friday, the Shahi Imam of the Fathepuri Masjid Dr Mufti Mukarram Ahmed announced, adding that the 'Ashura' (10th) will be observed on January 20.

The date commemorates the tragic and gruesome murder of the Prophet's grandson Hussain and the massacre of his adherents at Karbala in the deserts of central Iraq. Though the event is mourned by the entire community, those of the Shi'ite persuasion observe it more fervently by processions and holding assemblies of grief, while some undertake self-flagellation and other acts of self-mutilation.

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