The festival of Muharram has significant religious importance for Muslims, of which the first day is known as the Islamic New Year. Each year, the holiday falls on a different day because as the Islamic calendar is 11 or 12 days shorter than the solar calendar used in Western countries.
Muharram is one of the four holy months of Islam and unlawful acts, such as fighting and bloodshed, are forbidden. "The Muslim New Year is really celebrated as a cultural holiday, not a particularly religious one," Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, director of outreach at the Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Virginia, told the Washington Times.