Iran Press/Middle East: The red flag was replaced with a black one as a sign of mourning, with thousands of Imam Hossein's (PBUH) followers attending the ceremony.
Muharram is the first month of the Islamic lunar calendar, within which the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (Blessings of God upon him and his progeny) and the third Shia Imam was martyred along with 72 of his loyal companions in the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD.
Imam Hossein and his companions were martyred after fighting courageously for justice against the much larger army of the then-tyrant Umayyad caliph, Yazid I, which some historians estimate to have been as many as 30,000.
The Muslims, both Shias and Sunnis, and even followers of other religions such as Christians mourn the first ten days of the month in remembrance of the Chief of Martyrs, Imam Hossein (peace be upon him). 101/211/215
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