Muharram
Islamic New Year
Ali
-17 years old
-lives in a small house in Tripoli, Libya
-Arab
-practices the Islamic traditions
-long brown hair
-wears a traditional dress for the holiday, which is usually a long and loose gown along with the trouser for the lower body
-wears a type of cloak to cover her body
-wears a traditional cap/scarf on her head to cover herself
-has a mom, dad, sister, and two brothers
-has a friendly personality and loves dressing up for the holiday
Muharram (Islamic New Year)
Festival
Sunni Muslims
-fasting for an extra day
Shia Muslims
-fast for the whole month (in the evenings) and in some countries, the men harm themselves
What is it?
-sacred holiday (since this holiday happens during the most sacred month of the Islamic calendar)
-celebrated on the first day of Muharram which is the first month on the Islamic calendar
-typically there is a festival to celebrate the Islamic New Year
-during this holiday, most Muslims fast on the 10th day, which is known as the Day of Ashura
-Sunni Muslims fast for an extra day, either before or after this day
-Shia Muslims fast for the whole month (in the evenings) and in some countries, the men harm themselves
-Shia Muslims also parade the streets holding banners
-some people decorate their houses by putting up black and green banners in their with the names, such as Imam Hussain, but some people don't decorate their houses since for them it is a day of sorrow
-Muharram is so called because it was unlawful to fight during this month; the word is derived from the word ‘haram’ meaning forbidden
How long does it last?
-lasts for one day (evening to evening)
-dates may vary depending when it falls in the year
-next year it will be celebrated on the evening of Tuesday, October 13 and end on the evening of Wednesday, October 14
Why is it celebrated?
-this holiday is celebrated because it represents the month in which Muhammad emigrated from Mecca to Medina
-however, different groups in Libya remember this day in different ways on the 10th day of Muharram
-the Shia Muslims celebrate this day to mourn the death of Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Husayn Ibn Ali during the Battle of Karbala in present day Iraq
-the Sunni Muslims celebrate this day because of the victory of Moses over the Egyptian Pharaoh
What We Did:
What holiday does it remind you of?
-also, it kind of reminds me a little about the Jewish holiday, Passover, where there is a festival, and people fast during this holiday