20 OCTOBER 2015 - YANGON, MYANMAR: A boy who is going to walk across hot coals for Ashura at Punja Mosque in Yangon gets dressed for the ceremony. Ashura commemorates the death of Hussein ibn Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammed, in the 7th century. Hussein ibn Ali is considered by Shia Muslims to be the third imam and the rightful successor of Muhammed. He was killed at the Battle of Karbala in 610 CE on the 10th day of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. According to Myanmar government statistics, only about 4% of the population is Muslim. Many Muslims have fled Myanmar in recent years because of violence directed against Burmese Muslims by Buddhist nationalists. PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
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