Thursday November 14th was "the holy day of Ashura which
commemorates the killing of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet
Nuhammad". However, this holy day turned violent when Shiite Muslims were
attacked in Iraq. About 47 people were killed and many others were wounded. The
most worst case of violence occurred at the end of a death scene in a play in
Diyala Province. At the end of the scene, a suicide bomber detonated himself amidst
a crowd of men, women and children who had been watching a play about the death
of Imam Hussein. Around 35 people were killed and 75 were wounded in this
explosion alone. In Kut Province, two roadside bombs exploded near a tent that
was serving food and water to those on their way to Karbala, where the shrine
to Imam Hussein is located. Due to the two bombs, 10 were killed while 25 were
wounded. Then finally, two bombs exploded in the city of Kirkuk in northern
Iraq killing two and wounding eight.
This attack is clearly one of many
that are happening due to religious discord. This holy day of Ashura has
been the day of violence for many years. There have been attacks in 2005, 2007 and also in
2011. This day is most likely the battleground for violence because it is the
say when Shiites celebrate the killing of Imam Hussein and this killing is what helped fuel or even "create the
schism between Sunni and Shiite" (CNN). These two Muslim groups
have been waging war for years this year's attack on the day of Ashura has been
the deadliest. The use of suicide bombers, car bombs and other bombs for
immense damage were placed in dense areas full of Shiites which is probably
what caused the most damage. Iraq is trapped in a seemingly
never-ending cycle of terror as these two prominent religious groups
continue their dissonance. The reason why
these extremist groups use terror is because the power of terror is
in its ability to quickly demand attention and attract headlines and this is
clearly true since as soon as these bombings occurred the stories of
the terror spread across the news like wild fire and dominated headlines. Yet
the weakness of terror is that it does not have much of a lasting effect once
new stories surface and these stories of terror fade away from the headlines.
Perhaps the reason why these bombings in areas full of discord are so popular
is because constant bombings are what these groups need to keep the news
stations interested. Once again suicide bombers are used. Suicide bombers are
so favorable because these explosives can be attacked to a person who can enter
areas without being noticed till he/she needs to be noticed and by then it is
too late and the casualties are monumental. This fact can be seen through the
article. The bombings with the most deaths is the one at the play in
the Diyala Province because the suicide bomber was able to enter into an
area full of people undetected.
It is amazing that people can have so much hatred for another
group of people and go as far as using these horrible methods of extreme
violence. What is even more amazing is that these are two Muslim groups who
have such hatred for each other instead of religious groups that
are contrasting to each other like Buddhism and Muslim as an example.
If these acts of violence in the name of religion are ever to end, these
violent religious groups must realize that violence and terror will only get
them so far. These groups must recognize the need for compassion, understanding
and find a way to coexist.
Catherine
Choi
11/14/13
10:25pm
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