|
 Iranian female piligrims hold a rug bearing the names of key figures in Islam, at top, Mohammed, Allah, and Ali, at bottom, Hassan, Fatima, and Hussein, as they enter the holy Imam Hussein shrine, in Karbala, Iraq, some 108 kilometers (97 miles) southwest of Baghdad, Tuesday, July 9, 2002. Imam Hussein, the grandson of Islam's Prophet Mohammed, was killed in a battle on the plains of Karbala near the Euphrates River in 680 A.D. in what is today's Iraq. The Karbala battle, part of a dispute over leadership of the faith that began following the prophet Mohammed's death nearly 50 years earlier, was a key event in Islam's split into the Sunni majority and minority Shiite branches. Hussein's death remains a powerful example of sacrifice to many Shiites, who make up about 10 percent of the world's estimated 1 billion Muslims. Hundreds of thousands of Muslims from around the world come to visit this shrine every year. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) Related news Got any interesting photos? Send them to Times@iranian.com
|
|
|
|
Web design by Bcubed
Internet server Global Publishing Group