AP PHOTOS: Pandemic casts pall over Muharram in Kashmir

For Nasir Hussain, observing the Muslim month of Muharram, which marks the martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson in the battle of Karbala, is an article of faith. “We’ve to survive this epidemic to keep the mission of Imam Hossein alive,” Hussain, a business executive, said, explaining that the virus has not stopped them from mourning but only from going to community congregational halls. On a recent humid August night, Hussain’s family sat in the brightly lit drawing room at their residence at Srinagar’s sprawling Dal Lake, attentively listening to a religious broadcast on cable TV.