A man in Beirut's southern suburbs raises a flag during a march commemorating Ashura, July 29 2023. (Credit: João Sousa/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — Dressed in black, tens of thousands of people took to the street in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Nabatieh, Sour, and Baalbeck Saturday, to commemorate Ashura and mourn the death of Imam Hussein.
Ashura commemorates the 7th-century martyrdom of the Prophet Mohammed's grandson and his family during the Battle of Karbala against the forces of Umayyad Caliph Yazid.
South of Beirut
In Beirut's southern suburbs, men, women and children filled the streets listening to the story of the Battle of Karbala as it was recited from neighborhood loudspeakers.
Women and children listen to the story of the Battle of Karbala, recited in Beirut's southern suburbs. (Credit: João Sousa/L'Orient Today)
Open-air kitchens dotted the streets, serving mourners fresh hot meals. Local residents distributed coffee, tea, water, fruit, cakes, muffins, and other sweets.
Hezbollah supporters listening to a speech by Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, July 29, 2023 during Ashura commemorations in Beirut's southern suburbs. (Credit: João Sousa/L'Orient Today)
Lamentations and chants arose from public address systems, calling for the end of "global oppression."
A little girl gets a good view of an Ashura march, where pictures were raised of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi General Abu Mahdi Al Mohandes, both of whom were killed during a US airstrike in Baghdad Iraq, January 2020. (Credit: João Sousa/L'Orient Today)
Members of the Imam Mahdi scouts, a Hezbollah youth group, weep while listening to the story of the Battle of Karbala in Beirut's southern suburbs. (Credit: João Sousa/L'Orient Today)
Speaking during the commemoration, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah stated that "the Shiites of the world will never forget Imam Hussein and will always live their lives standing by the oppressed and resisting tyranny and oppression."
Baalbeck
In the town of Baalbeck, people flooded the streets after listening to the Karbala story at the town's Sayeda Khawla shrine, L'Orient Today's Bekaa correspondent reported. Tradition says Sayeda Khawla was the young daughter of Hussein, who died in the wake of Karbala, when Hussein's family was taken hostage and delivered to the Umayyad capital in Damascus. She is said to have died en route to Syria, and was buried in Baalbeck.
Scouts raise flags with the name "Hussein" written on them in the town of Baalbeck outside the shrine of Sayeda Khawla. (Courtesy of Sara Abdallah/ L'Orient Today)
Young men in Baalbeck raise photos of Lebanese and Iranian figures. (Courtesy of Sara Abdallah/ L'Orient Today)
In the Bekaa town of Hermel, a massive Hezbollah-organized men's march was followed by an equally large women's march, where participants chanted slogans in support of the Quran and Hussein, L'Orient Today's Bekaa correspondent reported.
Women in Hermel march to commemorate Ashura carrying photos of the Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei. (Courtesy of Sara Abdallah/ L'Orient Tday)
A women's march, organized by Hezbollah, in Hermel, Baalbeck. (Courtesy of Sara Abdallah/ L'Orient Today)
Mourners attending a Hezbollah event in Sour, where the story of the Battle of Karbala was narrated, South Lebanon. (Courtesy of Muntasser Abdallah/L'Orient Today)
A Hezbollah-organized march in Sour, South Lebanon, commemorating Ashura. (Courtesy of Muntasser Abdallah/L'Orient Today)
Reporting contributed by Muntasser Abdallah and Sara Abdallah