By Wikipedia Iraqi police and hospital officials say 50 people have been killed in bombings at security checkpoints targeting pilgrims headed to a Shi'ite holy…
Husayn ibn ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib (3rd Sha‘bān 4 AH - 10th Muharram 61 AH; 8 January 626 AD - 10 October 680 AD) was the son of ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib and Fātimah Zahrā. Husayn is an important figure in Islām as he is a member of the Ahl al-Bayt (the household of Muhammad) and Ahl al-Kisā, as well as being a Shī‘a Imām, and one of The Fourteen Infallibles of Shī'a Twelvers. Husayn ibn ‘Alī is revered by all Shi'a as a martyr who fought tyranny, as he refused to pledge allegiance to Yazīd I, the Umayyad caliph. He rose up to create a regime that would reinstate a "true" Islāmic polity as opposed to what he considered the unjust rule of the Umayyads. As a consequence, Husayn was killed and beheaded in the Battle of Karbalā in 680 (61AH) by Shimr Ibn Thil-Jawshan. The anniversary of his Shahid ("martydom") is called ‘Āshūrā ("tenth" day of Muharram) and is a day of mourning for Shia Muslims. Revenge for Husayn's death was turned into a rallying cry that helped undermine the Umayyad caliphate, and gave impetus to the rise of a powerful Shī‘ah movement.
