Muharram in Africa: East and West of Africa

Morocco

Most of the people in Morocco are Muslims. A large number of them are Maleki Sunnis, who are fond of Imam Hussein. There is an old tradition in Morocco; according to the false belief that Noah’s ship got to the beach on Ashura and God accepted Adam’s repent, some Shiites would celebrate the day instead of mourning for Imam Hussein. Ayatollah Seyyed Kazem Ghazvini travelled to this country after he heard about this tradition and he changed it after 14 months of research and effort.

Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone’s Muslims too did not know anything about Ashura and Muharram before the foundation of Iranian embassy in the country. But after some conferences and articles that were published by the embassy, people became familiar with the culture of mourning. The social structure of this country is tribal and the native traditions mixed with superstition and legends are very common there.

Senegal

95% of the population of Senegal is Muslim; some of them are Shiites.

Tijaniyah is the oldest Islamic sect in Senegal. This sect along with Ghaderieh claimed that they were connected to the dynasty of Prophet Muhammad. Because half of the Shiites in this country are originally from Lebonan, it is hard for people in Snegal to speak with Arabic accent. That is why they hold their mourning ceremonies in their native language.

Translated by: Sadroddin Musawi