Shiites of Iraq by Matt Moyer

Free for the first time in deca...yrdom still inspires believers.

Free for the first time in decades to worship openly, Shiites Muslim pilgrims in Karbala crawl into the shrine of Imam Husayn, whose seventh-century martyrdom still inspires believers.

A prostitute is led away from t...d with hand grenades.

A prostitute is led away from the brothel where she worked after a mob attacked brothels and beer sellers in the Old Basra neighborhood of Basra, Iraq. The mob, made up of men and boys from the neighborhood and a few Islamists, threw stones at many of the prostitutes as they ran for their lives. The mob also set fire to several of the businesses. In recent weeks there has been an increase in attacks on businesses that sell alcohol in Basra and some brothels have been attacked with hand grenades.

Worshippers flood toward the exit of a shrine in Karbala, Iraq.

Innocence amid horror, a young ... dead will never be identified.

Innocence amid horror, a young boy walks past the uncovered remains of massacre victims at a grave near Hillah. Many of the dead will never be identified.

Opening new wounds of grief, an...ey of Peace Cemetery.

Opening new wounds of grief, an Iraqi sobs with a rib bone in his hand after searching for remains of a family member in mass graves north of Hillah. More than 2,000 bodies have been dug up, most of them young men. Their death date to the aftermath of the 1991 gulf war when Saddam ordered troops to eliminate Shiites accused of rebelling against his regime. Human rights and forensic investigators are gathering evidence from the graves to be used in the filing of war-crime charges against Saddam and his top officials. Many families to identify remains bring their loved ones for an Islamic burial near Imam Ali's tomb at Najaf's Valley of Peace Cemetery.

A father prepares to cut his so... at not having come to his aid.

A father prepares to cut his son's head in a ritual meant to identify with Husayn's suffering when he was killed in A.D. 680 - and to express the Shiites' collective guilt at not having come to his aid.

A throng of the faithful attend...s in Sadr City, Iraq.

A throng of the faithful attend Friday prayers in Sadr City, Iraq.

Fashion swings from trendy to t...Islam in the future government.

Fashion swings from trendy to traditional in Sadr City, a Shiite quarter of Baghdad. Ranging from secular to fundamentalist, Iraq's 15 million Shiites - 60 percent of the population - now debate the role of Islam in the future government.

A Shiite man reads from the Kor...hrine in Najaf, Iraq.

A Shiite man reads from the Koran outside the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, Iraq.

An Iraqi woman cries after havi...en attacked with hand grenades.

An Iraqi woman cries after having her home ransacked by a mob that attacked a group of brothels and beer sellers in her run down neighborhood in Basra, Iraq. The mob, made up of men and boys from the neighborhood and a few Islamists, threw stones at the prostitutes as they ran for their lives. The mob also set fire to several of the businesses. In recent weeks there has been an increase in attacks on businesses that sell alcohol in Basra and some brothels have been attacked with hand grenades.

Members of a mob attack a broth...d with hand grenades.

Members of a mob attack a brothel and destroy cases of beer found inside in the Old Basra neighborhood of Basra, Iraq. The mob, made up of men and boys from the neighborhood and a few Islamists, threw stones at the prostitutes as they ran for their lives. The mob also attacked several other brothels and beer selling businesses. In recent weeks there has been an increase in attacks on businesses that sell alcohol in Basra and some brothels have been attacked with hand grenades.

Goods are unloaded from a truck...mp;#39;s holy cities.

Goods are unloaded from a truck in Najaf, Iraq. After the fall of Saddam Hussein, commerce has increased greatly in Iraq's holy cities.

Shelled during the failed anti-...owds gather for evening prayer.

Shelled during the failed anti-Saddam uprising of 1991, the restored Imam Ali shrine in Najaf - one of the holiest Shiite Muslim Sites - glows as crowds gather for evening prayer.

A watchman at a Najaf market ha...rival clerics in the holy city.

A watchman at a Najaf market has thieves - and more - to worry about in the chaos of post-Saddam Iraq. Factional struggles have provoked armed clashes between supporters of rival clerics in the holy city.

Daybreak greets a cloaked passe...Iraqi Shiites has finally come.

Daybreak greets a cloaked passerby at the Imam Ali shrine. The space will soon fill with believers ecstatic that the time for Iraqi Shiites has finally come.

Sheikh Mousa Ibrahim Saidy, 29,...hrine in Najaf, Iraq.

Sheikh Mousa Ibrahim Saidy, 29, a teacher at Said el Sadr School speaks with a worshipper outside the Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf, Iraq.

Displaying an image of Imam Ali...sters without fear of reprisal.

Displaying an image of Imam Ali, son-in-law and cousin of the Prophet Muhammad brought censure during Saddam's regime. Now a vendor in Najaf sells Ali posters without fear of reprisal.

A painting of Mohammad Sadik el... important countries.

A painting of Mohammad Sadik el Sadr, the revered Shiite cleric, hangs over an intersection November 2, 2003 in Sadr City, Iraq. Sadr City, named after the cleric who was killed by Saddam in the late 1990s, used to be called Saddam City. With the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime the Shiites have emerged from decades of repression to seize the reins of power in Iraq. Making up over sixty percent of Iraq’s population the Shiites will most likely determine the future course of one of the Middle East’s most important countries.

Girlish days of playing at her ...der pictures of Shiite martyrs.

Girlish days of playing at her home while mother and sister bake bread will soon end when 14-year-old Noel Abdel Wahid leaves home to marry a cousin - and thus aid her family's efforts to escape poverty. The Wahid family lives in a two-room house without plumbing in Sadr City, Baghdad's huge Shiite slum. According to the father, who holds down two jobs, the family hasn't been able to afford meat for five years. Because of blackouts, they eat by oil lamp on many nights, under pictures of Shiite martyrs.

Noel Abdel Wahid (right), 14, a...me in modern history.

Noel Abdel Wahid (right), 14, and her mother Sadia share a tender moment in their outdoor kitchen at their home in the sprawling Shiite slum of Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq. Noel is supposed to marry a cousin, who she does not want to marry, but feels she must in order to escape the poverty she lives in and to help her parents escape poverty. Powerless under Saddam Hussein and predominately poor, the Shiites of Iraq now find themselves as major players on the world stage, often at odds with the world's only remaining superpower. Making up over 65 percent of Iraq's population the success or failure of the United States' occupation of Iraq rests squarely on the shoulders of this previously marginalized group of people. The Shiites of Iraq are a diverse people whose beliefs range from the radical, as seen in Muqtada al-Sadr's morals court, to the progressive, as seen at Baghdad's elite universities where Shiites, Sunnis, and Christians mix freely. They are a people who have survived Saddam's killing fields, found solace in their religious rituals, and are now poised to take the reins of power for the first time in modern history.

Female friends - one a Shiite (...and female education.

Female friends - one a Shiite (right) and the other a Sunni - check out fellow students at Baghdad's elite al-Nahrayn (Two Rivers) University, where genders and faiths mix easily. The interim constitution adopted in March calls for equality between the genders, but continuing instability and street violence in Baghdad have kept many women students home with their parents. Harassment of non-veiled women and attacks on female dorms have also created tension on campus as conservative Shiite and Sunni clerics urge separate male and female education.

Shiite teen Noor Abdel Hadi tri...9;s wish for a show of modesty.

Shiite teen Noor Abdel Hadi tries on her cousin's hijab at her home in Hillah. Whether she eventually wears a veil in public is considered her choice, but Muslim women often cover up to avoid public harassment or defer to a husband's wish for a show of modesty.

A Shiite boy works at a brick f...me in modern history.

A Shiite boy works at a brick factory just outside Hillah, Iraq. Powerless under Saddam Hussein and predominately poor, the Shiites of Iraq now find themselves as major players on the world stage, often at odds with the world's only remaining superpower. Making up over 65 percent of Iraq's population the success or failure of the United States' occupation of Iraq rests squarely on the shoulders of this previously marginalized group of people. The Shiites of Iraq are a diverse people whose beliefs range from the radical, as seen in Muqtada al-Sadr's morals court, to the progressive, as seen at Baghdad's elite universities where Shiites, Sunnis, and Christians mix freely. They are a people who have survived Saddam's killing fields, found solace in their religious rituals, and are now poised to take the reins of power for the first time in modern history.

Shiite Bedouin camel herders wa...utside Nasaria, Iraq.

Shiite Bedouin camel herders walk across the desert with their herd outside Nasaria, Iraq.

Shiite mourners walk through th... important countries.

Shiite mourners walk through the Valley of the Peace Cemetery in Najaf, Iraq. Shiites from all over Iraq and the world are buried in this sacred cemetery. With the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime the Shiites have emerged from decades of repression to seize the reins of power in Iraq. Making up over sixty percent of Iraq’s population the Shiites will most likely determine the future course of one of the Middle East’s most important countries.

A man accused of selling CDs wi...eavy-handed approach.

A man accused of selling CDs with sexually explicit pictures on it receives ten lashings in a court set up by rebel cleric Moktada al-Sadr in Najaf, Iraq. Most senior Shiite clerics frown on al-Sadr's heavy-handed approach.

At a court set up by rebel cler...logging in his court.

At a court set up by rebel cleric Moktada al-Sadr, a cleric smokes a cigarette after finding sexually explicit images on a confiscated CD in Najaf, Iraq. Najaf is patrolled by Sadr's own moral police and those caught selling CDs with illicit images on them could face jail time or flogging in his court.

With the power out again, the A... meat for five years.

With the power out again, the Abdel Wahid family eats dinner by lantern light in their home in Sadr City, a sprawling Shiite slum where an estimated one million Shiites live, in Baghdad, Iraq. The Abdel Wahid family explained that they had not been able to afford meat for five years.

Matt Moyer

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