Photographic Conventions: Prayers and Protests

I've started to notice a pattern of imagery surrounding the political conflicts roiling across the Islamic world. Some of the pattern is embodied in images from different photographers, some is due to the tendency of editors at Western publications to print images from the same photographer. No matter. What are we seeing here?

Sitra, Bahrain — Wearing a Bahrain flag tied into a cape, a man
prays with others Friday in the city that hosted three funerals for
victims of a government crackdown on protesters at the Pearl
roundabout. Photo: Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times.

Sana'a,Yemen: A Yemeni girl stands among female
anti-government demonstrators attending noon prayers.
Photo: Muhammed Muheisen/AP.

Sana'a, Yemen: Anti-government protesters attend Friday prayers during a
demonstration demanding the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah
Saleh. Photograph: Muhammed Muheisen/AP.

Yemeni children stand among women attending Friday prayers, during
a demonstration demanding the immediate resignation of Yemeni
President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa on Friday. For weeks thousands
of Yemenis have been calling for Saleh's ouster. He said Friday that
he's willing to leave power "but we need to hand power over to safe
hands, not to sick, resentful or corrupt hands." Photo: AP.

Israeli soldiers keep watch as Palestinians perform their Friday prayers
in an open field in the village of Qusra, near the Jewish settlement of Shilo.
A Shilo resident was sentenced to 8 months in prison this week
for kidnapping and beating a 15-year-old Palestinian boy in 2007.
Photo: AFP.

_________
Sources: The images here are the product of a very unsystematic search. I'd wager you can find other, similar images pretty easily. The top image is from the "Framework" feature at The Los Angeles Times - 02/18/2011. The second and third images are from the "24 Hours in Pictures" feature at The Guardian - 03/22/2011 and 04/02/2011 respectively. The bottom two images are from the "Picture This" feature at Spiegel International - 04/01/2011 and 03/25/2011 respectively. In each instance. I've lifted both image and caption from the source.