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The Iraqi clergy took a leading role in defeating ISIS by employing religious symbolism as Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani issued a fatwa urging men to resist and led to a surge in volunteers for the Popular Mobilisation Force
Zainab refused to be silenced when she challenged tyrant Yazid in his court and would play a key role in memorializing her brother Hussain’s fight for upholding Islam's foundational ideals of egalitarianism and justice
Mukhayyam al Husayni Mosque, over 400 metres from Imam Hussain's shrine, stands at what is believed to be the site of the encampment of the Prohet's grandson and his family during the Battle of Karbala
The Prophet’s grandson, Imam Hussain, opposed the undermining of basic Islamic values of egalitarianism, justice, and equity, triggering the Battle of Karbala that ended with his massacre along with 72 of his companions and family members in the month of Muharram
The strength people drew from Prophet Muhammad's grandson Imam Hussain, who laid down his life fighting an unjust ruler in the seventh century, played a key role in seeing Iraqis through in the war on ISIS
Once considered unsophisticated, hookah, whose origins are disputed with some claiming it originated in India, has become integral to the Middle East’s café culture, and gained popularity in the West, too
Iraqi religious leaders denounced ISIS violence, emphasized its impact on all religious communities, supported justice for victims and survivors and ensured unity in the fight against the terror group militarily and intellectually
The Iraqi clergy effectively tapped into the doctrine of martyrdom in the fight against ISIS by invoking the Battle of Karbala in which the Prophet's grandson Hussain and 72 of his companions and family members laid down their lives resisting an unjust ruler
The Imam Hussain shrine in Iraq's Karbala was packed as usual around the forenoon when we waded through a large crowd of people, who jostled to kiss its walls as a customary mark of reverence
Millions of devotees symbolizing defiance against oppression march through Iraq to the holy city of Karbala to mark the end of the 40-day mourning period of Prophet Muhammad's grandson Hussain, making Arbaeen the world's biggest annual pilgrimage
