Tehran, Jul 28 (AP) Millions of Shiite Muslims in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and around the world on Friday commemorated Ashoura, a remembrance of the 7th-century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Hussein, that gave birth to their faith.

In Afghanistan, the Taliban cut mobile phone services in key cities holding commemorations for fear of militants targeting Shiites, whom Sunni extremists consider heretics.

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Security forces in neighbouring Pakistan as well stood on high alert as the commemorations there have seen attacks in the past.

Not all Shiites, however, were to mark the day Friday. Iraq, Lebanon and Syria planned their remembrances for Saturday, which will see a major suburb of Beirut shut down and the faithful descend on the Iraqi city of Karbala, where Hussein is entombed in a gold-domed shrine.

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Shiites represent over 10 per cent of the world's 1.8 billion Muslims and view Hussein as the rightful successor to the Prophet Muhammad.

Hussein's death in battle at the hands of Sunnis at Karbala, south of Baghdad, ingrained a deep rift in Islam and continues to this day to play a key role in shaping Shiite identity.

Over 1,340 years after Hussein's martyrdom, Baghdad, Tehran, Islamabad and other major capitals in the Middle East were adorned with symbols of Shiite piety and repentance: red flags for Hussein's blood, symbolic black funeral tents and black dress for mourning, processions of men and boys expressing fervour in the ritual of chest-beating and self-flagellation with chains.

In Iran, where the theocratic government views itself as the protector of Shiites worldwide, the story of Hussein's martyrdom takes on political connotations amid its tensions with the West over its advancing nuclear program.

Iranian state television aired images of commemorations across the Islamic Republic, tying the event to criticising the West, Israel and the US drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in 2020.

Anchor Wesam Bahrani on Iran's state-run English-language broadcaster Press TV referred to America as the “biggest opponent of Islam” and criticised Muslim countries allied with the US.

Men wore black, rhythmically beating their chests in mourning or using flails to strike their backs. Some wore red headbands, as black and red banners bore Hussein's name. Some sprayed water over the mourners in the intense heat.

The commemoration in Iran also comes as Tehran prepares for the one-year anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini.

Her death launched protests nationwide in Iran that reportedly saw more than 500 protesters killed and some 20,000 others detained.

Authorities have begun stepping up their enforcement of mandatory hijab, or headscarf, laws for women in recent weeks.

In the suburb of Sayida Zeinab near Syria's capital, Damascus, security forces manned checkpoints after a bomb hidden in a motorcycle exploded Thursday, killing at least six people and wounding dozens more.

On Tuesday, another bomb in a motorcycle wounded two people. The suburb is home to a shrine to Zeinab, the daughter of the first Shiite imam, Ali, and granddaughter of the Prophet Muhammad.

Mustafa Semaan, 41, a local resident, said the area had seen a resurgence of religious tourism after security stabilised amid Syria's still-ongoing war and the worst of the coronavirus pandemic.

“I don't believe the religious observances will be affected (by the recent bombings), but the economic situation as a result of visitors coming from outside Syria may be affected,” Semaan said. “If this continues, if there were a third attack, there might be a very negative impact.”

Iraq will see the main observance of the Ashoura on Saturday in Karbala, where hundreds of thousands are expected and many will rush toward the shrine to symbolise their desire to answer Hussein's last cries for help in battle. Convoys of the faithful already had begun to arrive there.

In Pakistan, authorities stepped up security as an Interior Ministry alert warned that “terrorists” could target Ashoura processions in major cities.

The main Ashoura processions will be held in the eastern city of Lahore in the Punjab province, where thousands of police officers have been deployed. There will also be processions in Karachi and elsewhere. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)