Bare-Chested Religious Self-Flagellation Has No Place on Our Streets

„For many years now, a medieval ritual has been carried out by Muslims on the streets of Canada to mourn the murder of Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Hussain Ibn Ali, in the Iraqi city of Karbala, when Muslims loyal to the then-ruler of the Islamic Caliphate slaughtered Prophet Muhammad’s entire progeny save a few women and an ailing son.

To put this in perspective, the tragedy, observed as ‘Ashura,’ unfolded 1,400 years ago, way back on Oct. 10, 680 AD.

The first time non-Muslim Canadians saw the spectacle of an ‘Ashura’ march was in 2010 when processions were held in cold weather in Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, and Montreal. At that time, it consisted of nothing more than mourning songs and light, symbolic chest-pounding.“ (…)