![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d27srd8s9736cr.cloudfront.net\/2026\/04\/Battle_of_Karbala_Without_written_version-1.jpg\")
<\/a>This painting depicts the Battle of Karbala (680 CE), showing the small camp of Husayn ibn Ali and his followers on the left, surrounded by the much larger, highly organized forces of the Umayyad caliph Yazid. The nearby river, likely the Euphrates, highlights a central tragedy of the event \u2013 Husayn\u2019s group was cut off from water for days before the final assault. Vast troop formations closing in emphasize the overwhelming imbalance of power, as Husayn and his small band, including family members, faced near-certain death. The scene captures the moment of impending destruction that, in Shi\u02bfa belief, represents not just a battle but a profound act of moral resistance and martyrdom in the face of injustice.<\/p><\/div>\n
The prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is traditionally understood to have died in 632 CE. In the decades after the Prophet Muhammad\u2019s death, disputes over leadership divided the Muslim community, with Shi\u02bfa Muslims holding that religious authority belonged to the Prophet\u2019s family, beginning with Ali ibn Abi Talib.<\/p>\n
After years of conflict and the rise of Umayyad rule in Damascus under Muawiya I, \u00a0power was transformed into a hereditary system and passed to his son Yazid ibn Muawiya.<\/p>\n
The following brief history is crucial in understanding the religious undercurrents behind the Iran war.<\/p>\n
Imam \u1e24usayn, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, refused to pledge allegiance to Yazid ibn Muawiya. This is not obscure stuff!\u00a0 It matters today.<\/p>\n
In Shi\u02bfa belief, Yazid was an illegitimate and tyrannical ruler whose brutality, impiety, and injustice stood in direct violation of the moral principles of the Qur\u2019an and the example of the Prophet\u2019s family.<\/p>\n
Allegiance to Muawiya would have meant legitimizing corruption and oppression.\u00a0 \u1e24usayn\u2019s stance is understood as a moral obligation, rather than a bid for political or military power.<\/p>\n
Imam \u1e24usayn left Mecca (in Saudia Arabia today) after receiving letters from people in Kufa (in Iraq today) asking him to lead them against the ruthless Yazid. However, by the time he approached Iraq, those supporters had been crushed by Yazid\u2019s men.<\/p>\n
\u1e24usayn and a small prayerful group of family members and devotees, including women and children \u2013 were intercepted and forced to stop in the desert of Karbala.<\/p>\n
On the 10th of Muharram (Ashura),\u00a0 June 25\u201326 this year, \u1e24usayn\u2019s camp faced a vast army sent by Yazid\u2019s authorities. One by one, his companions and family members were killed.<\/p>\n
\u1e24usayn was ultimately killed at Karbala after refusing to legitimize Yazid\u2019s rule. Although he did not seek war and was vastly outnumbered, he stood in principled opposition and was drawn into a fatal confrontation. In Shi\u02bfa belief, his death is understood as martyrdom (shah\u0101da) \u2013 a conscious sacrifice for truth and justice.<\/p>\n
This is among the greatest events in all of world history, yet largely absent in the western mind.<\/p>\n
Religious scholars compare Husayn\u2019s martyrdom to the crucifixion of Jesus.<\/p>\n
Husayn\u2019s martyrdom at Karbala endures today as a powerful emotional and religious symbol of resistance to tyranny and a moral line that must not be crossed.<\/p>\n
Perhaps 15% of all Muslims today are Shi\u2019a. The rest are Sunni. Iran, Bahrain, Azerbijan, North Yemen, and Southern Lebanon are predominantly Shi\u2019a. Doesn\u2019t it make more sense now? (Except for the Bahrain part).<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s standoff between Saudi Arabia and Iran stems from the Saudi embrace of \u00a0Wahhabism. This tradition vehemently rejects practices central to Shi\u02bfa practices like shrine veneration and intercession<\/p>\n
In Shi\u02bfa Islam, intercession (shaf\u0101\u02bfa<\/em>) is the belief that the Prophet Muhammad and his family \u2013 especially figures like Ali ibn Abi Talib and Husayn ibn Ali \u2013 can plead with God on behalf of believers. This intercession is understood to occur only by God\u2019s permission, as these figures are seen as spiritually close to God but not divine. It\u2019s like Christians who pray to saints or to Mary.<\/p>\n From a Shi\u02bfa perspective, rightful authority in Islam did not pass to political and military rulers, but remained within the family of the Prophet \u2013 beginning with Ali ibn Abi Talib and continuing through a line of divinely guided Imams.<\/p>\n These Imams are not regarded as prophets, but they are viewed as holy interpreters of the Qur\u2019an and guardians of the faith. This belief bestows great importance to Husayn\u2019s martyrdom at Karbala as an ethical stand that continues to shape Shi\u02bfa actions and belief.<\/p>\n Ali ibn Abi Talib was the first Imam. His elder son, Hasan ibn Ali, was the second Imam.\u00a0 Husayn ibn Ali was the third Imam.<\/p>\n Muhammad al-Mahdi, (Mahdi), is the son of the eleventh Imam, Hasan al-Askari. According to this strongly held belief, he was born in the 9th century (around 869 CE) and became Imam as a child. Mahdi was described as being very young, sometimes characterized as \u201ca boy\u201d or \u201cabout twelve.\u201d<\/p>\n These accounts are similar to stories of Jesus with great wisdom in the Temple in Jerusalem at 12 years of age.<\/p>\n Shi\u02bfa belief holds that shortly after inheriting the Imamate, Mahdi entered a state known as the Occultation (ghayba), a divinely ordained concealment from the world. This occurred in two phases: an initial period of limited contact through appointed representatives, followed by a longer \u201cMajor Occultation\u201d that continues to the present. During this time, he is believed to be alive but hidden, sustaining a spiritual role even in absence.<\/p>\n In Twelver Shi\u02bfa belief, Muhammad al-Mahdi is expected to reappear openly at a time of widespread injustice and moral disorder, ushering in a restoration of truth and justice. His return is often associated with Mecca, where he will publicly call humanity back to the true path and assume rightful leadership. He will not act alone: traditions describe him as being joined by a small, devoted group of followers \u2013 often numbered symbolically as 313 \u2013 and, most significantly, by Isa ibn Maryam, (Jesus, son of Mary) who will support his mission and affirm his authority. Together, they are understood to defeat oppression and fulfill the moral struggle embodied in events such as the Battle of Karbala, bringing history toward a final realization of justice.<\/p>\n In contrast, the Saudi religious tradition, rooted in Sunni Islam and shaped by the teachings of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, rejects the idea of divinely appointed Imams and does not accept the Shi\u02bfa doctrine of a hidden, living Mahdi. While acknowledging Karbala as a tragic historical event, it does not grant it the same central theological significance, and it opposes many devotional practices associated with the veneration of the Prophet\u2019s family. From a Shi\u02bfa viewpoint, these positions amount to a rejection of the spiritual authority of the Prophet\u2019s family and the enduring legacy of Karbala.<\/p>\n Neither Shi\u2019a nor Sunni Muslims claim that Muhammed is God. They believe there is no god but God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God. They greatly revere Jesus as a prophet but they reject the notion that he is the \u201cSon of God.\u201d<\/p>\n Since Vatican II Christians have transformed their thinking around Islam. For instance, the \u00a0Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992), \u00a7841, states, \u201cThe plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind\u2019s judge on the last day.\u201d<\/p>\n Pat Elder (pelder@militarypoisons.org<\/a>) is the Director of Military Poisons, www.militarypoisons.org<\/a> an organization that focuses on the contamination caused by the U.S. military at bases around the world. Pat has been focused on per-and poly fluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS. Pat has worked on mass protests in Washington since 2001. He serves on the Board of World BEYOND War. He has also served on the board of the National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth, NNOMY. Pat taught at the Islamic Education Center in Potomac, Maryland where he learned to appreciate the many facets of Islamic history and culture.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We must go back in history to understand the split between Sunni and Shi\u2019a Islam before we can understand the animosity between predominantly Sunni nations like Saudi Arabia and Shi\u2019a Iran today. Please suffer through the names and dates. The prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is traditionally understood to have died in 632 CE. 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