In Lebanon and Iran, Ashoura commemorations reflect the weight of war and loss

War, grief, and remembrance converged this year as Shiite Muslims across Lebanon and Iran marked Ashoura, one of the holiest days on the Shiite calendar — the annual commemoration of the 7th-century martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.

In Dahiyeh, the sprawling southern suburb of Beirut, tens of thousands of mourners moved in synchronized waves through the streets, beating their chests in ritual lament. For many, the sorrow was layered: they wept not only for Hussein but also for relatives and neighbors killed during months of fierce fighting between Hezbollah and Israel. The war, which ended with a fragile ceasefire, left deep scars across southern Lebanon and parts of the capital.

Further south, in Nabatiyeh, the commemorations unfolded against a backdrop of visible destruction. Israeli airstrikes had hollowed out buildings and left craters in roads. Smoke still rose from a strike on the city’s outskirts, a stark reminder of how tenuous the ceasefire remains. Some participants performed tatbir — ritual bloodletting by making small cuts on their scalps — a practice that, while controversial among some clerics, continues in parts of Lebanon and Iraq.

In Tehran, Iran’s capital, ceremonies were held in mosques and public squares. Worshippers beat their heads and chests in rhythmic mourning. As night fell, devotees carrying torches set fire to tents in a reenactment of the Battle of Karbala in 680 A.D., where Hussein and his companions were slaughtered. The flames, the chants, and the sheer scale of the gathering underscored the way Ashoura continues to serve as both a religious rite and a powerful symbol of resistance and sacrifice.

This gallery of photographs, curated by AP photo editors, captures the faces, rituals, and landscapes of a holy day shaped by the wars of the present and the tragedies of the past.