While Iran is holding the funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a sea of pictures of Mojtaba Khamenei standing behind his father, Ali Khamenei covers the national highway at Magam Kashmir, announcing the beginning of Muharram this year. Having the posters of Iranian leaders on mosques, walls, water/food stations, and private buildings show that Kashmir’s support to Iran via the large scale gold donations wasn’t all; this Muharram it stood with Iran, waving the Palestinian flag, and reinterpreting Imam Hussain’s message from a contemporary light. The posters signify a long-standing tradition of showcasing Kashmiri’s political stance or resistance through visual expression, often taking the shape of posters, banners, spray paint on shops etc. The use of posters, murals, banners is also how Shias in Kashmir visualise Muharram and its message of standing against oppression and an unjust rule.A poster of Ayatollah Khamenei and Mojtaba Khamenei at Magam Kashmir. Photo: Sehar Abdullah.Growing up, posters in public squares or homes would also signal allegiance toward local community leaders; particularly inside the walls of Shia houses they would tell which local Shia leaders’ families supported. At homes, these posters politicised the walls with family pictures and wall clocks and keeping or not keeping these posters reflected a political decision. While in my house, my father would insist on not keeping one, my grandmother, a stern supporter of one of the local Shia leaders, would keep the frame upside down when my father visited her. Though these posters of local factions still exist, nowadays the discourse on Iranian leadership also paints the outsides as well as the insides, seeping through private and public practice of religion.A poster of Ayatollah Khomeini (Ruhollah Mostafavi Khomeini), Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Mojtaba Khamenei at Bemina, Kashmir. Photo: Sehar Abdullah.In particular, the prominent faces of the Iranian regime, the posters of Ali Khamenei and Mojtaba Khamenei now populate these spaces. These posters demonstrate not only allegiance to the third Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei at his father’s place but also show support to the Iranian regime under attack by the US and Israel. And so it wasn’t surprising to see a four-day-long protest in February over the assassination of Ali Khamenei. Only rarely do some leaders command such a vast following. Such support also shows the cumulative international fraternity, vis-a-vis the soft power which Iran has accumulated over time, something that the likes of the US miscalculate when targeting Iran. Iran’s international influence isn’t shaped by hegemonic power shows or tariff threats, it’s historical with deep religious roots, which can’t be uprooted overnight. Muharram flags on a bridge in Bemina Kashmir. Photo: Sehar Abdullah.The Iranian civilisational ties with India, and in particular to Kashmir are old, dating back to the 14th century when popular Sufis such as Mir Sayyid Ali Hamdani, commonly referred to as Shah-e-Hamdaan (King of Hamadan) visited Kashmir leaving a deep influence in the Valley. However, to better understand the contemporary Iranian-Kashmiri ties, it will be incomplete to only look at the cultural influence it has had over the region. The contemporary bond, which particularly Kashmiri Shias feel towards Iran, mainly stems from religious elements, among which Muharram, and specifically Imam Hussain is one of the biggest factors. Every year around Muharram the banners of Iranian supreme leader(s) along with the names of martyrs of Karbala are hung up. Faces of Ayatollah Khomeini (Ruhollah Mostafavi Khomeini), Ali Khamenei and now Mojtaba Khamenei become a reminder, a reinforcement of the strong hold of Iran over the global Shia community, tying the religious with the political. Without Muharram, these commitments might be static, but Muharram rituals set it in motion, keep it alive and reinterpreted for current times.A poster of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a newborn at Magam, Kashmir. The poster commemorates Ayatollah’s granddaughter, who was among family members, including Ayatollah himself, killed in February 2026. Photo: Sehar Abdullah.While there have been noticeable state-sanctioned restrictions on Muharram rallies and on speaking over sensitive and political issues, posters have been relatively free of scrutiny. They speak on the ongoing genocide in Gaza, Israeli brutalities on Palestinians, sharing the moral burden of those who put them up. This audacity of Muharram to speak for the oppressed and voiceless, has also attracted the Kashmiri Sunni community.Poster highlighting Israeli brutalities on Palestinians at Magam Kashmir. Photo: Sehar Abdullah.It has kindled a similar fervour among the Sunni clerics and community, who have come in support of Muharram procession, a rare sight in the erstwhile years. Previously, while Muharram was mostly observed in Shia localities, it also came with Shia-Sunni turfs, often prohibiting the display of banners and posters in a non-Shia locality.However, this Muharram, posters were put up in main cities in Srinagar with a large Sunni population, such as Dalgate and Lal Chowk. These posters symbolise a relatively peaceful Muharram in which Sunni communities were also mobilised to join the processions.Poster of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei along with Iranian flag at Khomeini Chowk at Bemina Kashmir. Photo: Sehar Abdullah.It was also my first-time seeing Muharram posters in major cities in Srinagar, something that I would mostly see in small Shia pockets before. Posters have the strange ability to polarise or collectivise in an instant; this year, I witnessed more instances of collectivisation. Perhaps, amidst the global uncertainty over Iran-US relations, and ongoing Palestinian genocide, posters are silently borrowing voices from local communities who wish to speak-up but get silenced more often. Sehar Abdullah is a freelance writer and researcher from Kashmir.