A little girl prepares to have her scalp slashed open while children smear themselves with their own BLOOD during Islamic ceremony mourning death of the Prophet's grandson 

  • WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
  • Young Shia Muslim girl looks lost as her head is held still in preparation for the knife in the Ashura festival
  • Other pictures show men and boys covered in blood after slashing themselves with razorblades and knives
  • The tradition of blood-letting in the run up to Ashura is seen by some as a way of washing away their sins
By GARETH DAVIES and HANNAH AL-OTHMAN FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 05:25 EST, 12 October 2016 | UPDATED: 10:53 EST, 12 October 2016As a child cries in the background covered in blood, this young girl is preparing to feel a blade slice open her skin.
The young Shia Muslim was taking part in a ceremony to mark the Muslim festival of Ashura, which mourns the death of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammed.
It is marked by 10 days of mourning, in which many devotees whip and cut themselves with chains and knives and some drive knives into their scalps and is seen as a way of washing away their sins.
As a child cries in the background covered in blood, this young girl is preparing to feel a blade slice open her skin
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As a child cries in the background covered in blood, this young girl is preparing to feel a blade slice open her skin
Photographs taken today show young boys parade down the street slapping their claret-stained chests in an act of flagellation
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Photographs taken today show young boys parade down the street slapping their claret-stained chests in an act of flagellation
Indian Shia Muslim men self-flagellate during the mourning procession on the tenth day of Muharram, which marks the day of Ashura, in Chennai
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Indian Shia Muslim men self-flagellate during the mourning procession on the tenth day of Muharram, which marks the day of Ashura, in Chennai
The weapons of self-flagellation used in the Muslim festival pictured here soaked in blood at the festival in Chennai
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The weapons of self-flagellation used in the Muslim festival pictured here soaked in blood at the festival in Chennai
 In one particularly disturbing photo, a man wearing a blood-splattered shirt has sliced a huge gash in the top of his head and appears to be slapping it
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 In one particularly disturbing photo, a man wearing a blood-splattered shirt has sliced a huge gash in the top of his head and appears to be slapping it
The act of punishing oneself is part of the Muslim festival, and as the women line the streets beating their chests, topless men and boys whip themselves with knives and razorblades leaving to give themselves nasty back wounds
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The act of punishing oneself is part of the Muslim festival, and as the women line the streets beating their chests, topless men and boys whip themselves with knives and razorblades leaving to give themselves nasty back wounds
The pictures were taken in Chennai during the mourning procession on the tenth day of Muharram, which marks the day of Ashura
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The pictures were taken in Chennai during the mourning procession on the tenth day of Muharram, which marks the day of Ashura
An Indian Shia Muslim boy stares intently at a sharp knife before he is  flagellated during the mourning procession
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An Indian Shia Muslim boy stares intently at a sharp knife before he is  flagellated during the mourning procession
Shia Muslim women beat their chests during the religious procession on the tenth day of the mourning period of Muharram
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Shia Muslim women beat their chests during the religious procession on the tenth day of the mourning period of Muharram
The pictures above were taken in Chennai during the mourning procession on the tenth day of Muharram, which marks the day of Ashura.
Ashura mourns the death of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, who was killed by armies of the Yazid near Karbala in 680 AD.
In the picture of the girl with the knife held to her head, a child can be seen in the background.
The youngster is sucking a dummy, with a blood-smeared forehead and clearly distressed.
Other photographs taken today show young boys are paraded down the street as they slap their claret-stained chests in an act of flagellation. 
The act of punishing oneself is part of the Muslim festival, and as the women line the streets beating their chests, topless men and boys whip themselves with knives and razorblades leaving to give themselves nasty back wounds. 
In one particularly disturbing photo, a man wearing a blood-splattered shirt has sliced a huge gash in the top of his head and appears to be slapping it. 
The religious festival is celebrated widely in and in Baghdad yesterday a blood-stained Shiite boy clutching a huge knife joined his young friends in the bloody ceremony. 
Iraq saw some of the goriest scenes, with huge groups of blood-drenched men flooding the cities' streets.  
Two Iraqi Muslims drench in their own thick blood after slashing their scalps in the gory Islamic festival
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Two Iraqi Muslims drench in their own thick blood after slashing their scalps in the gory Islamic festival
A Lebanese Shiite Muslim child has blood running down his face during a flagellation ceremony marking Ashura in the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh
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Ashura mourns the death of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, who was killed by armies of the Yazid near Karbala in 680 AD
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Lebanese Shiite Muslim children coverd in blood during a flagellation ceremony in southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh
A young boy braces himself for a knife across the head in the Iraqi city of Najaf on October 12, 2016
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A young boy braces himself for a knife across the head in the Iraqi city of Najaf on October 12, 2016
Huge groups of men walk the streets of Baghdad wielding sharp knives they crash down on their own heads
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Huge groups of men walk the streets of Baghdad wielding sharp knives they crash down on their own heads
A young boy bows his head to an elder, who takes a long knife to the child's scalp to add more blood to his gown
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A young boy bows his head to an elder, who takes a long knife to the child's scalp to add more blood to his gown
Who men walk hand in hand in Najaf, Iraq, as the man on the right looks to be struggling with the blood loss
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Who men walk hand in hand in Najaf, Iraq, as the man on the right looks to be struggling with the blood loss
Like a scene from a horror movie, a massive group of men walk through the streets of the holy city of Najaf, Iraq, drenched in blood 
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Like a scene from a horror movie, a massive group of men walk through the streets of the holy city of Najaf, Iraq, drenched in blood 
Iraqi Shiite Muslim boy is seen before being cut on the head, in ritual commemorating the death of Imam Hussein,Prophet Mohammed's grandson
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Iraqi Shiite Muslim boy is seen before being cut on the head, in ritual commemorating the death of Imam Hussein,Prophet Mohammed's grandson
An Iraqi Shiite Muslim man flagellates himself on the tenth day of the mourning period of Muharram, which marks the day of Ashura
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An Iraqi Shiite Muslim man flagellates himself on the tenth day of the mourning period of Muharram, which marks the day of Ashura
Iraq Shi'ite Muslim men bleed as they gash their foreheads with swords and beat themselves while commemorating Ashura in Baghdad, Iraq
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Iraq Shi'ite Muslim men bleed as they gash their foreheads with swords and beat themselves while commemorating Ashura in Baghdad, Iraq
Iraqi Shiites take part in commemorations on the tenth day of the mourning period of Muharram, which marks the day of Ashura, in the holy city of Najaf
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Iraqi Shiites take part in commemorations on the tenth day of the mourning period of Muharram, which marks the day of Ashura, in the holy city of Najaf
And the ritual is not exclusive to Asia either. 
In Piraeus port near Athens in Greece, the Ashoura festival was in full flow today.
Topless men roamed the streets with huge knives and over-sized razorblades to take chunks out of their own backs for their religion.   
More than 6,000 Muslim shiites, including citizens and refugees, live in the country. 
They pray at four makeshift mosques, according to the Shiites Muslim Association of Greece. 
A Shiite Muslim living in Greece flagellates himself during a Muharram procession to mark Ashura in Piraeus, near Athens
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A Shiite Muslim living in Greece flagellates himself during a Muharram procession to mark Ashura in Piraeus, near Athens
A man takes a modified weapon to cut his own back as onlookers watch him and drum their chests with their hands
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A man takes a modified weapon to cut his own back as onlookers watch him and drum their chests with their hands
Two Muslims use the over-sized razorblades to puncture huge gashes in their backs in the streets of Piraeus, Greece
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Two Muslims use the over-sized razorblades to puncture huge gashes in their backs in the streets of Piraeus, Greece
One man holds his head in his hands as he lets out a scream (foreground) others grimaces at the ceremony in Greece
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One man holds his head in his hands as he lets out a scream (foreground) others grimaces at the ceremony in Greece
Massive crowds gather to take part and watch as a man prepares to launch knives into his back in the street
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Massive crowds gather to take part and watch as a man prepares to launch knives into his back in the street
An audience poised with mobile phones to film and take pictures of a man flagellating himself in public
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An audience poised with mobile phones to film and take pictures of a man flagellating himself in public
Shiite Muslims living in Greece take part in a Muharram procession to mark Ashura in Piraeus, near Athens, Greece
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Shiite Muslims living in Greece take part in a Muharram procession to mark Ashura in Piraeus, near Athens, Greece
A Shiite flagellates himself in front of Zul jinnah, a horse symbolizing the horse Shiites' spiritual leader Imam Hussein used to fight against his enemy in Karbala, during the holy day of Ashoura in Piraeus port, near Athens, on Wednesday
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A Shiite flagellates himself in front of Zul jinnah, a horse symbolizing the horse Shiites' spiritual leader Imam Hussein used to fight against his enemy in Karbala, during the holy day of Ashoura in Piraeus port, near Athens, on Wednesday
Bloodied knives are swung in Greek streets as a group of men slice themselves open - and the scars are evident
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Bloodied knives are swung in Greek streets as a group of men slice themselves open - and the scars are evident
A Shiite holds knifes during the holy day of Ashoura in Piraeus port, near Athens, Wednesday
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A Shiite holds knifes during the holy day of Ashoura in Piraeus port, near Athens, Wednesday
An Iraqi Shiite boy looks at his picture during the reenactment of the Battle of Karbala, as part of a parade in preparation for the peak of the mourning period of Ashura in Baghdad's northern district of Kadhimiya
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An Iraqi Shiite boy looks at his picture during the reenactment of the Battle of Karbala, as part of a parade in preparation for the peak of the mourning period of Ashura in Baghdad's northern district of Kadhimiya
Iraqi Shiite boys take part in a self-flagellation procession during the reenactment of the Battle of Karbala, as part of a parade in preparation for the peak of the mourning period of Ashura
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Iraqi Shiite boys take part in a self-flagellation procession during the reenactment of the Battle of Karbala, as part of a parade in preparation for the peak of the mourning period of Ashura