December 17, 2010
On Friday December 17th, about 200 people celebrated the Ashura day in the Arc de Triomphe in Barcelona (near the downtown). The day of Ashura is a Shia Islamic holiday that commemorates the martyrdom of Imam Hussein. The most important Islamic Shia community is the islamic center Al Qaim is located in Barcelona although Muslims Shia have a minority presence in Catalonia. This community is formed mostly of people from Pakistan.
The City Council allows this holiday’s public celebration since 2004. However, new rules were imposed. For instance, city government not allows the participation of children, show the back naked or the use of swords or whips that could produce blood. All this things are common during the celebrations in public spaces of many countries where Shiites have a significant presence.
