Word: imam
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...each year on the holy day of Ashura, their bloody conflict is re-enacted as a Shi'ite cri de coeur. Iran, the pre-eminent Shi'ite nation, commemorated Ashura amid its own power struggle. Tens of thousands took to the streets, chanting, "We are the army of Imam Hussain ... supporters of Mir-Hossein." Hussain had become Mir-Hossein Mousavi, the declared loser in last June's presidential election to the "usurper" Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The authorities reacted ferociously, with bullets and batons, killing several people. The opposition responded with fists and stones, almost boastful of its long-lived defiance...
...chilling scenes, television footage captured the moment that the bomber struck. A tightly packed crowd, dressed in black and holding banners aloft, solemnly shuffled down one of Karachi's main roads. Some performed the matam, beating their chests as they mourned the death of Imam Hussain, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, who was killed in 680 A.D. in the Iraqi city of Karbala. On all four sides, well-armed policemen and paramilitary guards surrounded the marchers. But even beefed-up security measures were unable to thwart the bomber, who blew himself up near the back of the crowd. After...
...From Imam Hussain Square to Freedom Square, from east to west along Revolution Street, the political and religious symbology of Iran's Islamic regime was turned on its head on Sunday, Dec. 27. Hundreds of thousands of opposition supporters brought Shi'ite tradition to bear against an increasingly brutal government, and the blood of martyrs was once again spilled...
...Sunday's events came on the mourning day of Ashura, the most important day on the Shi'ite calendar. It marks the death of Imam Hussain, whose martyrdom at the hands of Caliph Yazid is the religious foundation of the Islamic Republic's generalized stand against what it calls the "global arrogance...
...also not forgotten where this gathering was taking place. "Family of Imam Khomeini, eyes and light of the people!" came the call. Khomeini's grandson, Hassan, is known to be a supporter of the opposition movement, though the pressures of his position have prevented him from an open declaration...