Alam procession on the fifth day of Muhharum in Kolkata.

Muslims are carrying Alam or religious flags and performing matam or mourning during the fifth day of Muharram observation in Kolkata, India, on July 1, 2025. The Alam is representing the war standard of Shi'ism and the ensign of Husayn carried by his brother Abbas ibn Ali. Alam is being used as a symbolic part of the Muharram mourning period for Shia Muslims. Shia Muslims are commemorating Muharram as a month of mourning in remembrance of the martyrdom of Islamic Prophet Muhammad's grandson Imam Hussain, who is being killed on Ashura (10th day of Muharram) in the battle of Karbala in 680 A.D.