Shia Islam
A person getting a Johnson & Johnson vaccine by a health care worker at the one-time pop-up vaccination site located 16th Street beach on the sand on Sunday, May 2, 2021 in Miami Beach. The one-time vaccination site made possible by Miami Beach Commissioner David Richardson and the Florida Division of Emergency Management will administer up to 250 Johnson & Johnson vaccines. (David Santiago/Miami Herald via AP)
The Latest: Colo. governor extends statewide mask mandate

By The Associated Press May. 02, 2021 10:46 AM EDT

Shiite worshippers gather at the golden-domed shrine of Imam Moussa al-Kadhim, who died at the end of the 8th century, during the annual commemoration of the saint's death, in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, March 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Iraq pilgrims defy virus protocols as case numbers rise

By Qassim Abdul-Zahra Mar. 10, 2021 06:12 AM EST

Pope Francis speaks to journalists, Monday, March 8, 2021, while flying back to The Vatican at the end of his four-day trip to Iraq where he met with different Christian communities and Shiite revered cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. At right pope's spokesperson Matteo Bruni. (AP Photo/Yara Nardi, pool)
Pope weighed Iraq virus risk but believes God will protect

By Nicole Winfield And Samya Kullab Mar. 08, 2021 01:55 AM EST

Pope Francis, center arrives to concelebrate a mass in the Chaldean Cathedral of Saint Joseph, in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, March 6, 2021. Earlier today Francis met privately with the country's revered Shiite leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
The Latest: Pope attends Mass at crowded Baghdad church

Mar. 06, 2021 10:23 AM EST

Pope Francis is welcomed upon his arrival at the Sayidat al-Nejat (Our Lady of Salvation) Cathedral, in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, March 5, 2021. Pope Francis has arrived in Iraq to urge the country's dwindling number of Christians to stay put and help rebuild the country after years of war and persecution, brushing aside the coronavirus pandemic and security concerns. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Pope urges Iraq to embrace its Christians on historic visit

By Nicole Winfield And Samya Kullab Mar. 05, 2021 06:31 AM EST

FILE - In this Nov. 7 2010, followers attend a mass at Our Lady of Salvation church in Baghdad, Iraq. Iraqi Christians have gathered for mass in the same church that just a week before was the scene of a horrific bloodbath that left scores dead and wounded. Pope Francis is pushing ahead with the first papal trip to Iraq despite rising coronavirus infections, hoping to encourage the country’s dwindling number of Christians who were violently persecuted during the Islamic State insurgency while seeking to boost ties with the Shiite Muslim world. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)
EXPLAINER: Pope's risky Iraq trip aims to boost Christians

By Nicole Winfield Mar. 03, 2021 05:27 AM EST

FILE - In this Jan. 15, 2004 file photo, Iraqis protest in the streets of the southern city of Basra carrying posters of Shiite leaders including Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, right, the top cleric of Iraq's Shiite majority. On Saturday, March 6, 2021, Pope Francis will visit the 90-year-old Grand Ayatollah who is revered by many Shiites worldwide and whose words hold powerful influence in Iraq and beyond. The pontiff and ayatollah will meet in al-Sistani’s modest home in the Iraqi city of Najaf. (AP Photo/Nabeel al-Jurani, File)
Intense preparations before pontiff meets Iraqi ayatollah

By Qassim Abdul-Zahra And Samya Kullab Mar. 03, 2021 01:20 AM EST

Pope Francis celebrates a Mass with members of religious institutions on the occasion of the celebration of the World Day of Consecrated Life, in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, pool)
Pope moves ahead with plans to meet Shiite leader in Iraq

By Nicole Winfield And Samya Kullab Feb. 08, 2021 07:19 AM EST

Mohammad Maleklee, 23, of the National Orchestra of Iran and Tehran Symphony, plays saxophone from his window, during mandatory self-isolation due to the new coronavirus disease outbreak, in Tehran, Iran on Wednesday, April 8, 2020 photo. With performance halls closed, musicians find performance spaces wherever they can. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
A pandemic atlas: No longer in viral denial, Iran struggles

By Jon Gambrell Dec. 16, 2020 12:02 AM EST

This handout photo from the office of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani shows Iraq's top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, center, meeting with U.N. envoy to Iraq Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, right, in Najaf, Iraq, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020. In a statement released by his office after meeting the U.N. envoy Al-Sistani threw his support behind the prime minister’s announcement to hold parliamentary elections ahead of schedule next year, a key demand of protesters. (Office of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, via AP)
Iraq's top Shiite cleric backs early parliamentary elections

Sep. 13, 2020 08:28 AM EDT

FILE - In this Sept. 10, 2019, file photo, Lebanese Shiite supporters of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group raise their fists and chant slogans during Ashoura, the Shiite Muslim commemoration marking the death of Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, in present-day Iraq in the seventh century, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019, in Beirut, Lebanon. Shiites mark Ashoura, the 10th day of the month of Muharram, to commemorate the Battle of Karbala when Imam Hussein, a grandson of Prophet Muhammad, was killed. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
Shiite Muslims mark holy day of mourning in virus' shadow

By Mariam Fam And Bassem Mroue Aug. 29, 2020 02:46 PM EDT

Women wearing protective face masks to help prevent spread of the coronavirus walk through a shopping center, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020. Iran surpassed 20,000 confirmed deaths from the coronavirus on Wednesday, the health ministry said — the highest death toll for any Middle East country so far in the pandemic. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Iran surpasses 20,000 confirmed deaths from the coronavirus

By Nasser Karimi Aug. 19, 2020 05:47 AM EDT

Lawyer: Yemeni rebels free 6 Baha’i prisoners held for years

By Ahmed Al-Haj Jul. 30, 2020 03:13 PM EDT
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Thursday freed six prominent members of the Baha’i religious minority whose years-long incarceration on charges of...

People visit a mass grave for the victims of the Islamic State group in Mosul, Iraq on Thursday, July 1, 2020. A human skull, a pair of worn trousers and a shoe were among the remains unearthed from a mass grave discovered this week in northern Iraq, a remnant of the brutal rule of the Islamic State group. (AP Photo/Farid Abdulwahed)
New mass grave unearthed in Iraq's north from brutal IS rule

By Farid Abdulwahed And Samya Kullab Jul. 02, 2020 12:17 PM EDT

Trash fills a water canal in an impoverished area where people have been greatly affected by the coronavirus outbreak, in Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, April 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
Iran's Khamenei: Mass Ramadan events may stop over virus

By Jon Gambrell Apr. 09, 2020 03:31 AM EDT