“Hamada Bayloun is not particularly religious, but across his entire upper back spreads a large tattoo of the most revered saint in Shiite Islam, Imam Ali. He is one of a growing number of Shiite Muslims in Lebanon who have inked themselves with Shiite religious and political symbols as a show of pride in their community since neighboring Syria's civil war broke out in 2011, fanning hatreds between Shiites, Sunnis and other faiths across the region. The 30-year-old Bayloun got his tattoo a few months after the war began, partly as a response to attempts to bomb Shiite shrines in Syria and Iraq. “We can't respond with car bombs, but (through tattoos) we can show our strength and love for the prophet and his family”, he said, referring to Islam's Prophet Muhammad, who was Ali's cousin and father-in-law.

The Syrian conflict, which began with government forces crushing protests against President Bashar Assad, became a fight between predominantly Sunni rebels against Assad's minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiism. The Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah has sent thousands of its fighters to Syria to support Assad, alongside Iranian, Iraqi and other Shiite militias. That is why one Lebanese man, Tayseer, got the face of the bespectacled Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, tattooed on his chest, right above his heart. He said it's a show of “deep love” for the man he says is protecting Lebanon from the Islamic State group and other Sunni extremists fighting in Syria and Iraq.

Tattoos are forbidden by Sunni clerics but are generally accepted in Shiite circles. Among the most popular tattoos is “313”, the number of commanders Shiites believe will accompany their last imam, Mahdi, when he returns to save the world from oppression. Tattoo artist Hussein Mistrah, 24, says tattoos in general have become fashionable in Lebanon. His small tattoo parlor in Beirut's Shiite district of Dahiyeh is always busy. He inks an average of three or four Shiite tattoos per week, and among his clients are Hezbollah supporters fighting in Syria. At least 25 of his clients have been killed. “These are the ones I know about”, he said. While an Associated Press photographer visited recently, a 21-year-old fighter name Mohammad Talal came in to get Nasrallah's portrait on his chest. He was told the first appointment would be in two months. “I could be dead in two months!” Talal shot back. Mistrah said he would try to fit him in sooner.

Farah Najm has a tattoo of Ali's sword on the back of her neck. The 21-year-old aviation maintenance student said she got it a few years ago when she was “in a religious state, out of love for Ali”. Although she's no longer observant, she kept the tattoo. She tries to hide it when she's out partying “out of respect”. For some, tattoos have extra benefits. Zulfiqar, 30, said his tattoos are a magnet for women, especially at the beach. On one pec he has Ali's face, and on the other the name “Zeinab”, Ali's daughter and the granddaughter of the Prophet Muhammad. “Sometimes I get women's phone numbers because of the tattoo. Maybe they like it more than they like me”, he laughed”. – Hassan Ammar via The Associated Press



In this Saturday, Oct. 24, 2015 photo, a Lebanese Shiite supporter of Hezbollah with a tattoo on his head that reads in Arabic, “Oh Ali”, beats his chest during the holy day of Ashoura, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon. A growing number of Shiite Muslims in Lebanon are getting tattoos with religious and other Shiite symbols since the civil war in neighboring Syria broke out five years ago, fanning sectarian flames across the region. (Photo by Hassan Ammar/AP Photo)





In this Tuesday, May 31, 2016 photo, Ali Hussein Nasreddine, 50, poses for a photo showing his tattoo of Shiite Muslims' first Imam Ali, and his son Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammed in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon. (Photo by Hassan Ammar/AP Photo)





In this Tuesday, May 10, 2016 photo, Ali Hussein Nasreddine, 50, poses for a photo showing off his tattoos of Shiite Muslim religious slogans and Shiite Muslims' first Imam Ali, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon. (Photo by Hassan Ammar/AP Photo)





In this Tuesday, May 10, 2016 photo, Ali Hussein Nasreddine, 50, poses for a photo showing off his tattoos with Shiite Muslim religious slogans in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon. The tattoo in Arabic reads, “Oh Mahdi, 313”. (Photo by Hassan Ammar/AP Photo)





In this Monday, July 18, 2016 photo, Alodi Issa, 22, poses for a photo showing off his tattoos with Shiite Muslim religious slogans in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon. The tattoo in Arabic reads, “Oh, the revenge for Hussein. Ali, Fatima. 313, Oh Abu Fadel al-Abbas”. (Photo by Hassan Ammar/AP Photo)





In this Tuesday, May 31, 2016 photo, Ali, 22, poses for a photo showing off his tattoo of Shiite Muslims' first Imam Ali, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon. (Photo by Hassan Ammar/AP Photo)





In this Tuesday, May 31, 2016 photo, Abbas, 23, poses for a photo showing off his tattoos of Shiite Muslim religious slogans with Arabic that reads “We are all your Abbas, oh Zeinab”, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon. (Photo by Hassan Ammar/AP Photo)





In this Tuesday, May 24, 2016 photo, Tayseer, 30, civil servant, covers his face as he poses for a photo showing a tattoo of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon. He got it five months ago as an expression of “deep love” for the man he says is protecting Lebanon from Islamic State group and other extremists fighting in neighboring countries. (Photo by Hassan Ammar/AP Photo)





In this Monday, July 18, 2016 photo, Alodi Issa, 22, poses for a photo showing off his tattoos with Shiite Muslim religious slogans in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon. The tattoo in Arabic reads, “Oh, the revenge for Hussein. Ali, Fatima”. (Photo by Hassan Ammar/AP Photo)





In this Wednesday, July 20, 2016 photo, tattoo artist Hussein Al-Hussein inks the chest of client Alodi Issa, 22, with Shiite Muslim religious slogans at his tattoo shop in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon. The tattoo in Arabic reads, “Oh, the revenge for Hussein. Ali, Fatima”





In this Wednesday, May 25, 2016 photo, Farah Najm, 21, an aviation maintenance student, poses for a photo showing her tattoo of the sword of Shiite Muslims' first Imam Ali, in Beirut, Lebanon. (Photo by Hassan Ammar/AP Photo)





In this Tuesday, May 10, 2016 photo, Ali Hussein Nasreddine, 50, poses for a photo showing off his tattoo of Imam Abbas with blood on his face in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon. The tattoo in Arabic reads, “Oh Abbas”. (Photo by Hassan Ammar/AP Photo)





In this Tuesday, July 19, 2016 photo, Zulfiqar, 30, poses for a photo showing his tattoo of Shiite Muslims' first Imam Ali, left, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon. (Photo by Hassan Ammar/AP Photo)