Ashura cooked to share hope 2017-10-07 11:33:54   DERSİM - Ashura boilers are ready for peace and fraternity. Çilem Küçükkeleş stated that Ashura is representative of people living together from different culture and religious. Before Hussein ibn Ali was murdered in the Battle of Karbala, ashura had been cooked and shared in a festival atmosphere after the days of fasting on Muharrem month; however, the meaning of Ashura changed after the massacre. After this date, Ashura soup cooked and shared with the people for those who were murdered in Karbala and for the loyalty to the memories of the Twelve Imams. People have started to cook and share Ashura prepared from a variety of 12 different grains, fruits and nuts, after the Muharrem Fast in the sense of peace and fraternity. Çilem Küçükkeleş, a member of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Religious Belief Commission, expressed that it is representation of possibility of multicultural life in the Middle East. Çilem, who participated in the Ashura activities in the Dersim province, emphasized the importance of nature in the belief of Dersim’s people and she said, "Burning a wood is equal to burning a human here. Ban on going to lands means banning everything here. This society have been offended and hurt a lot and now they are full of anger. Nevertheless, the meaning of sharing Ashura is to share hope and morale in the Alevis’ cities."