January 19, 2008. Copenhagen, Denmark According to a spokesperson for the historic march through the Noerrobro section of Copenhagen, Ashura is the day when Freedom was Resurrected for the peoples of Arabian descent. The day commemorates several events, depending on whether one is Sunni or Shi'ite Muslim. Among the Sunni, Ashura "biblically" honors the day a dove returned to Noah to let him know that the flood was now over. Hence, the dove has always represented peace. According to Islamic Sunni tradition, Ashura also also represents the day God saved Moses and his people from the Egyptian pharaoh. Among the Shi'ite, Ashura also commemorates the day, in 680 AD, when Imam Hussein and about 70 of his followers were murdered (martyred) by an army of several thousand under the leadership of an oppressive Iraqi (Persian) chieftain. This warlord of the Umayyad regime had demanded allegiance from Prophet Mohammed's grandson, Imam Hussein, where they lived along the banks of the Euphrates in what is now known as Kerbala, Iraq. The resulting battle and deaths have since become a beacon of hope among Shi'ite Muslims, some say, much as Christ's death also represents. Bent Lorentzen in a cultural anthropologist and author. As an undergraduate, he studied for a BS in environmental science, where he produced multimedia educational programs for planetariums. He has taught science, and lives now in Copenhagen, writing as a cultural journalist. He is the author of several books, including a series of dragon adventures based on ancient mythologies from all corners of the world. Author: shokes1008 Keywords: islam mohammed muslim shi'ite sunni iraq copenhagen peace denmark news Added: January 19, 2008
