Notionally, Mecca and Medina are equally holy to both Shias and Sunnis, but in practice, Shias have different priorities—Najaf, Karbala, and Damascus, where the shrine of Zainab (Imam Hussain’s sister) stands, are the most sacred pilgrimage centres. Zainab, incidentally, was the one who witnessed the Battle of Karbala in which Imam Hussain, the grandson of the Prophet, was martyred and recounted it to the people in her eloquent sermons. Without Zainab the tragedy of Karbala would have been buried in Karbala. For Shias, the ten days of Muharram, mourning the Battle of Karbala, trumped
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