A PARADE will be held on a major Bradford road today to mark the holy day of Ashura.

The procession will take place in the Great Horton area between 10am and 1pm, taking in Great Horton Road, All Saints Road and Laisteridge Lane.

It is marked on the tenth day of Muharram - the first month of the Islamic calendar - and is observed by both Sunni and Shia muslims.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: The scene from a previous year's Ashura parade in Bradford The scene from a previous year's Ashura parade in Bradford (Image: Newsquest)

It is marked with a voluntary day of fasting, commemorating the day Nuh (Noah) left the Ark and the day Musa (Moses) was saved from the Egyptians by God.

However, for Shia Muslims, Ashura is a day of mourning the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Holy Prophet, in 680 AD at Karbala in modern-day Iraq.

He was killed by political rivals alongside an army of 72 men at the battle of Karbala.

Hussein’s body was mutilated, leading to his martyrdom.

The day is of great religious significance to members of the Shia community and processions take place across the world.

 

First tweeted that its 613 and 614 buses will divert via Laisteridge Lane, Canterbury Avenue, Little Horton Lane and Southfield Lane between 10am and 1pm.