As I read the scattered news reports coming out of Iran, of bloodshed and protest during the Ashura mourning period for the death of the martyr, I was interested in an historical connection of protest and a massacre, and the link between Shi'a in Iran and those here in the New World. For those who find history interesting this may be a piece of it you are unaware of.
Significance of Ashura for Shi'a Muslims
This day is of particular significance to Shi'a Muslims, who consider Hussein (the grandson of the Prophet Muhamad) Ahl al-Bayt the third Imam and the rightful successor of Muhammad. Many Shi'as make pilgrimages on Ashura to the Mashhad al-Husayn, the shrine in Karbala, Iraq that is traditionally held to be Imam Hussein's tomb. On this day Shi'a are in remembrance, and mourning attire is worn. They refrain from music, since Arabic culture generally considers music impolite during death rituals. It is a time for sorrow and respect of the person's passing, and it is also a time for self-reflection, when one commits oneself to the mourning of the Imam Hussein completely.
Weddings and parties are also never planned on this date by Shi'as. Shi'as also express mourning by crying and listening to poems about the tragedy and sermons on how Hussein and his family were martyred. This is intended to connect them with Hussein's suffering and martyrdom, and the sacrifices he made to keep Islam alive. Hussein's martyrdom is widely interpreted by Shi'a as a symbol of the struggle against injustice, tyranny, and oppression.
The NY Times, covering the recent deaths of protesters reports the symbolism of Ashura for Shia, and the impact on citizens, some of whom may not have been engaged in earlier protests:
The government crackdowns on mourning ceremonies in the past week provoked many people in the more traditional neighborhoods of south Tehran as earlier clashes did not, some residents said. "People in my neighborhood have been going to the Ashura rituals every night with green fabric for the first time," said Hamid, 33, a laborer who lives in the southern Tehran neighborhood of Shahreh-Ray and declined to give his last name. "They have been politicized recently, because of the suppression this month."
Yet few protesters expected the scale of the bloodshed that broke out on Sunday. The memory of Imam Hussein is so potent among Shiites that killing for any reason is strictly forbidden on Ashura, and Iranian leaders have always tried to avoid violence or even state executions during a two-month period surrounding the holiday.
"Ashura is a very symbolic day in our culture, and it revives the notion that the innocents were killed by a villain," said Fatemeh Haghighatjoo, a former member of the Iranian Parliament who is a visiting scholar at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. "Killing people on Ashura shows how far Khamenei is willing to go to suppress the protests."
Far from ancient Iran, here in the New World Caribbean, the martyrdom of Hussain, has been commemorated as Hosay.
This custom was brought to Trinidad by East Indian Shiites who migrated from India in the 19th century. The first observance of Hosay in Trinidad has been traced back to 1854, eleven years after the first indentured laborers arrived from India. However, maintaining the Hosay tradition was not always an easy task. After a ban on all types of parades was imposed by the British colonialist government in 1884 following riots on sugar estates, approximately 30,000 people defiantly took to the streets for Hosay in Mon Repos, San Fernando, on Thursday, October 30, 1884. After shots were fired by the police to disperse the procession, 22 men were killed and another 120 were wounded. That fateful day is commonly referred to in Trinidad history as the "Hosay Massacre."
The Hosay Massacre in Trinidad, is also known as the Jahajee Massacre
Dr Kumar Mahabir has this account of the history:
On October 30th 1884, 22 Indians were killed and 120 others injured in a hail of police gunfire at two Hosay processions in San Fernando. Included in the casualties were defenseless women and children.
Many historians who have studied the event reveal that Hindus as well as Africans were part of the Indian and Muslim-based street processions. Historians also believe that never before had such a large, armed military force assembled in colonial Trinidad, or in any other West Indian colony, at any cultural event.
He describes the cultural significance, not just in Trinidad but in other parts of the Caribbean basin:
Hosay is the commemoration of the death of the two soldier-grandsons of Prophet Mohammed who were killed in war in Iraq in 680 AD. The centerpiece of Hosay is the procession of taziyas made of cardboard and tinsel. They are symbols of the tomb erected over the remains of Husain, one of the two grandsons, in the plains of Karbala. Hosay is celebrated annually in Cedros and St. James in Trinidad. It has been banned by law in Guyana. In Jamaica, it is the second largest national cultural event. Hosay is not a festival, and it is not to be viewed or described as Indian Carnival.
He goes on to describe the events that occurred:
Police detachments were strategically deployed with cartridges loaded with buckshots to scatter-shoot into the crowd. A contingent of 74 policemen was headed by Captain Baker at Mon Repos Junction. Twenty soldiers arrived by special train from Port of Spain. Twenty-one British marines were sent to Princes Town to reinforce the police. The British warship, H.M.S. Dido, rushed down from Barbados to anchor in waiting outside the San Fernando harbour.
Armed forces were placed at the three main entrances leading to San Fernando. They were posted at the Les Efforts junction, which was a toll gate that lay at the junction of Cipero Street and Rushworth Street. At this point, 34 armed men, 20 soldiers and 14 policemen were stationed. The other entrance was at the point where Royal Road met Mon Repos Estate. The next (northern) entrance was where Point-a-Pierre Road formed a junction with Mount Moriah Road. Through this entrance, crowds surged from estates like Vista Bella, Marabella, Concord, Bon Accord, and Plein Palais. Few Indians believed that the police would shoot them down in cold blood. After all, they were simply participating in a customary religious procession. One survivor said that he did not believe that the police would "shoot people like fowls."
The massacre took place on a Thursday. On horseback, Magistrate Arthur Child read The Riot Act amid the thunder of tassa drumming, chanting, singing, and stick-fighting. Few Indians could have really heard what was being read. Even if they had heard, few could have understood English at that time. Child ordered the police to shoot at the procession at Les Efforts. Two volleys were fired into the crowd, followed by some sporadic shooting. Those in the front of the procession were mowed down by a hail of bullets. Taziyas fell to the ground. The dead and wounded lay in pools of blood in the street. There was shock and panic. There were shrieks of terror and cries of pain. Some ran into the canefields. Others scampered for shelter from the bullets.
He concludes:
Sadly, the events surrounding this significant day in the history of Trinidad are known only by a few. October 30th 1884 has been overlooked in many of the texts that chronicle the nation’s experiences during colonization. The courage of these jahajis [indentured immigrants] martyrs who fought and gave their lives for the freedom to worship must not be forgotten. The fact that Hosay survives to this day is testimony that the spirit of these martyrs continues to live.
It will be interesting in the days ahead, to see how this historical footnote is linked in the Caribbean, and how some people of the Caribbean basin will then view what is happening in today's Iran.
It bears repeating:
Hussein's martyrdom is widely interpreted by Shi'a as a symbol of the struggle against injustice, tyranny, and oppression.