Scholars have written extensively about Ashura practices in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and Pakistan, where the mourning period is marked by passion plays reenacting the story of the battle of Karbala, including self-flagellation. Over the past decade, Senegalese converts to Shi‘i Islam have begun to commemorate Ashura in their own way. They insist that these Arab or Iranian practices are not essential to Shi‘i Islam, stressing in contrast their Senegalese or African Shi‘i identity. Converts in Dakar have organized public debates which cater to a Senegalese Sunni Muslim audience. In Senegal, Ashura overlaps with Tamkharit, a festive occasion with pre-Islamic origins. Some believe Tamkharit celebrates the Muslim New Year and is linked to other Qur’anic events. Senegalese Shi‘a hope that through educating the Senegalese population about Ashura they will sensitize them to the sadness of this date and avoid conflict. Conferences and television and radio appearances discuss whether Ashura is a celebration or a day of mourning and play up the closeness that African Sufis also feel towards the family of the Prophet.