are based on al-Kashiɹ’s tenth-century Rawdat al-
Shuhada (Garden of the Martyrs), discussed in
Halm, Shi’a Islam and Momen, Introduction to Shi’i
Islam. See also Pinault, Horse of Karbala on both
Rawdat al-Shuhada and al-Majlisi’s seventeenth-
century Bihar al-Anwar (Ocean of Light).
build the wedding canopy: Ingvild Flaskerud’s DVD
Standard-Bearers of Hussein includes rare footage
of women commemorating Karbala.Chapter 14
“the Karbala factor”: Momen, Introduction to Shi’i
Islam. Michael Fischer refers to it as “the Karbala
paradigm.”
“Let the blood-stained banners of Ashura”: See
Khomeini, Islam and Revolution.
the Mahdi: It should be noted that the term “Mahdi” is
also used in Sunni Islam but not for a speciɹc
ɹgure. Sunnis use it to refer to an ideal Islamic
leader, and indeed many have claimed the title,
over the centuries. In Shia Islam, however, there is
only one Mahdi, the twelfth Imam, a clear
messianic figure.