Men whip themselves with knives at the Ashoura commemoration in Kabul (photos)

TO Afghanistan, to see Shiite Muslims flagellating themselves with knives during the Ashoura (aka Ashura) commemoration in Kabul. Ashoura honours the death of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, in 680 A.D. Last year, the commemoration saw Afghanistan’s first major sectarian attack since the fall of the Taliban regime. In that strike, a suicide bomber on foot detonated his vest amid scores of worshippers at a Shiite shrine, killing at least 80 people…

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An Afghan woman prays over the grave of a relative at a cemetery during the Ashoura festival in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012. The festival of Ashoura commemorates the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad in A.D. 680.(AP Photo/Ahmad Nazar)