Superstitious rituals, emergence and development

Mourning for the martyrdom of the Imams, especially Imam Hossein, is among important religious rituals practiced by Shi’ite Muslims. Centuries after these historical events, the facts have naturally been distorted by friends and enemies, and the rituals have been mixed with superstitions. In this paper, the writer first tries to present a definition of acceptable mourning rituals. The writer then classifies the superstitions finding their way into the mourning rituals into three groups: superstitions reflected in the ideological fundamentals, superstitions reflected in speeches and writings and superstitions reflected in behaviors. Finally, the writer mentions the factors responsible for the development of superstitions.