Photos of the Week: Kabul falls to Taliban; Shiite Muslims commemorate Ashoura

By Kit Doyle · August 20, 2021

(RNS) — Each week Religion News Service presents a gallery of photos of religious expression around the world. This week’s photo selection includes Kabul and most of Afghanistan falling to the Taliban, Shiite Muslims around the world commemorating Ashoura and more.

A Kashmiri Shiite Muslim boy flagellates himself as he participates in an Ashura procession, the 10th day of Muharram, in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021. Muharram is a month of mourning in remembrance of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Mohammed. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Kashmiri Shiite Muslims shout religious slogans as they participate in a Muharram procession on Dal lake, near Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021. Muharram is a month of mourning in remembrance of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Mohammed. (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)

Shiite Muslim worshippers gather inside the holy shrine of Imam Hussein during a Muharram procession marking Ashura, in Karbala, Iraq, Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021. Shiites mark Ashura, the tenth day of the month of Muharram, to commemorate the Battle of Karbala when Imam Hussein, a grandson of Prophet Muhammad, was killed. (AP Photo/Anmar Khalil)

Shiite Muslim worshippers gather around the shrine of Imam Abbas during a Muharram procession in Karbala, Iraq, Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021. Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, is a month of mourning for Shiites in remembrance of the death of Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, at the Battle of Karbala in present-day Iraq in the 7th century. (AP Photo/Anmar Khalil)

Afghan Shiite Muslim refugees living in India shout religious slogans as they attend a procession to mark Ashura in New Delhi, India, Friday, Aug. 20, 2021. Ashura falls on the 10th day of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, when Shiites mark the death of Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, at the Battle of Karbala in present-day Iraq in the 7th century. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Shiite Muslim men strike themselves with knives attached to chains during a procession to mark Ashura, in Kabul, Afghanistan. Thursday, Aug. 19, 2020. Ashura falls on the 10th day of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, when Shiites mourn the death of Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, at the Battle of Karbala in present-day Iraq in the 7th century. (AP Photo)

Supporters of Yemen's Shiite Houthi rebels, hold a sign with Arabic that reads, "Ashura," as they chant slogans during festivities on the the holy day of Ashura, in Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021. Ashura is the annual Shiite Muslim commemoration marking the death of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, at the Battle of Karbala in present-day Iraq in the 7th century. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

Taliban fighters patrol in the Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood of Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 18, 2021. The Taliban declared an “amnesty” across Afghanistan and urged women to join their government Tuesday, seeking to convince a wary population that they have changed a day after deadly chaos gripped the main airport as desperate crowds tried to flee the country. The Taliban refers to itself as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and enforces a strict interpretation of Share, or Islamic law. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

A man holds a certificate acknowledging his work for Americans, center, as hundreds of people gather outside the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 17, 2021. The Taliban declared an “amnesty” across Afghanistan and urged women to join their government Tuesday, seeking to convince a wary population that they have changed. The Taliban refers to itself as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and enforces a strict interpretation of Sharia, or Islamic law.(AP Photo)

Taliban fighters patrol inside the city of Kandahar, southwest Afghanistan, Sunday, Aug. 15, 2021. The Taliban refers to itself as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and enforces a strict interpretation of Sharia, or Islamic law. (AP Photo/Sidiqullah Khan)

Archive Photos

Members of an Arab, Muslim and African student coalition demonstrate across from the White House on March 26, 1980. They were protesting Israeli-built settlements in the occupied West Bank. RNS archive photo. Photo courtesy of the Presbyterian Historical Society.

Maj. Gen. Charles E. Brown, Jr., second from left, chief of chaplains of the U.S. Army, is assisted in cutting a cake marking the July 29, 1965, observance of the 190th anniversary of the Army chaplaincy at Fort Hamilton, New York. RNS archive photo. Photo courtesy of the Presbyterian Historical Society.