Rereading Ashura beliefs in a phenomenological approach

Ashura as a holy time and Karbala as a holy place is one of the most central Shiite beliefs and plays a prominent role in Shia Islam. New approaches such as phenomenology provide a new image of this common Shiite belief for the contemporary man. Mircea Eliade by a phenomenological approach in the subject of religions believes that most of the beliefs and rituals of religions are based on the creation and renovation of creation. Although Ashura rituals are reconstructions of Karbala’s tragic incident, their comparison with other nations’ rituals and renovation celebrations indicates that they have a similar concept, function, and structure. Accordingly, Ashura incident can be interpreted as the Shiite renovation ritual. Besides, Ashura beliefs and rituals extend beyond a region. Until now, such questions have led to silence or traditional answers. However, the amount of persuasiveness of traditional answers to such questions is by itself questioned. At least some part of the society welcomes new and scientific approaches. This article tries to reread Ashura rituals and beliefs through a new and non-religious approach. The goal is answering this question: Is it possible to present a comprehensible image of Ashura for non-Shiites by rereading and interaction to other similar cultures in renovation rituals?