Shiite Muslims start performing rituals ahead of Ashura

Ashura falls on the 10th day of the Islamic month of Muharram and is a 10-day mourning period commemorating the seventh-century killing of Prophet Mohammed's grandson Imam Hussein, whose shrine is in Karbala in southern Iraq.

Shiite Muslims take part in a mourning ritual in Iraq's southern city of Basra early on July 20, 2023.

A mourning ritual in Iraq's central shrine city of Karbala, July 27, 2023.

Karbala, Iraq, July 27, 2023.

Iranians take part during a traditional mourning ceremony on the 7th day of the Islamic month of Muharram, ahead of Ashura day in city of Nushabad, Isfahan province, in central Iran, July 26, 2023.

A craftsman assembles Tazia, a replica of the mausoleum of Imam Hussein, ahead of the Ashura during Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, July 27, 2023.

A person takes part in a mourning ritual in the city of Nasiriyah in Iraq's southern Dhi Qar province, July 20, 2023.

A Pakistani girl lights a candle at an Imam Bargah, a Shiite Muslim mosque, during the holy month of Muharram in Peshawar, Pakistan, July 19, 2023.

People take part in the annual religious performance of Taazieh in the Iranian city of Noosh Abad on July 26, 2023.

Pakistani Rangers take part in a flag march during the sacred month of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic Calendar, in Karachi, Pakistan, July 25, 2023.

A procession in Karachi, Pakistan, July 27, 2023.

Worshippers hold up religious symbols and figures during an Ashura procession in the Sadriyah district in central Baghdad, Iraq, July 27, 2023.

Iraqis in costumes re-enact events of Ashura, a 10-day period during the Muslim month of Muharram to remember and mourn the seventh century killing of Prophet Mohammed's grandson Imam Hussein, in al-Kifah district in central Baghdad, Iraq, July 25, 2023.

An Iranian woman takes part in a mourning ritual ahead of Ashura in Tehran, Iran July 26, 2023.

Iranians take part in a mourning ritual ahead of Ashura, in Tehran, Iran July 26, 2023.

Pakistanis participate in a procession commemorating the sacred month of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, in Karachi, Pakistan, 27 July 2023.

Iraqis re-enact events of Ashura in al-Kifah district in central Baghdad, Iraq, July 25, 2023.

Kashmiris stage a protest denouncing the burning of the Quran outside a Stockholm mosque in Sweden during a Muharram procession on the eighth day of Ashura in Srinagar, July 27, 2023.

People participate in a mourning ritual in Iraq's central holy city of Najaf on July 26, 2023, during the Muslim month of Muharram in the lead-up to Ashura.

People take part in the annual religious performance of Taazieh in the Iranian city of Noosh Abad on July 26, 2023.

Girls dressed up as angels participate in a mourning ritual in the Iranian city of Noosh Abad on July 26, 2023.

A Kashmiri girl holds a placard as she takes part in a religious procession on the seventh day of Islamic month of Muharram, in Srinagar, Kashmir, 26 July 2023.

A mourning ritual in Iraq's central holy city of Najaf, July 26, 2023.

A mourning ritual in Iraq's central holy city of Najaf, July 26, 2023.

A mourning ritual in the city of Nasiriyah in Iraq's southern Dhi Qar province, July 20, 2023.

A person touches a Zuljanah, a horse symbolizing the horse of Imam Hussain, Peshawar, Pakistan, 26 July 2023.

Men cook food to be distributed to worshipers during an Ashura procession in the Kifah district in central Baghdad, Iraq, July 25, 2023.

A participant lifts a copy of the Quran, in response to the burning of a copy of Islam's holy book in Sweden, as Iraqis re-enact the events of Ashura, al-Kifah district in central Baghdad, Iraq, July 25, 2023.

An elderly woman known as "Um-Ali" (mother of Ali), from the village of Malkiya, cooks food using traditional methods in an outdoor kitchen, to be served during the Ashura mourning period in different locations in the country, Malkiya, Bahrain, July 21, 2023.

Men take part in a mourning ritual in the city of Nasiriyah in Iraq's southern Dhi Qar province on July 22, 2023.