The
Day of Ashura ( ,
colloquially: ; ; ; or ) is on the tenth day of
Muharram in the
Islamic calendar and marks the climax of the
Remembrance of Muharram. Shiite commemorations of the Day of Ashura have traditionally included rituals which have been condemned by many Shia religious authorities recently under the claim that such practices are wrong or unislamic. This day is celebrated by
Sunni Muslims (who refer to it as The Day of Atonement) as the day on which the
Israelites were freed from the
Pharaoh (called 'Firaun' in Arabic) of
Egypt. However,
Shi'a Muslims reject these stories and maintain that Ashura is a day of great sorrow due to the tragic events of Karbala.