海角大神

Every day, almost every moment, tears flow from sobbing Shiite Muslim believers here in the Imam Hussein shrine聽as they cling to the ornate silver and gold frame that encircles the grave of their most revered saint.

Imam Hussein may have perished in battle more than 13 centuries ago, choosing to die for his faith rather than surrender to a far larger enemy army. But Iraq鈥檚 majority Shiites say this legendary example of defiance could not be more relevant today, as Sunni extremists advance across the north and center of the country, aiming to reignite sectarian bloodletting in Iraq. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) has vowed to attack Shiite shrines and cleanse this 鈥渇ilth-ridden鈥� city of Karbala 鈥撀爏ite of Imam Hussein鈥檚 7^th-century battle, southwest of Baghdad 鈥� as well as the shrine city of Najaf, farther south.

To Shiites, the message not only from history but from current religious leaders is clear: They must fight back if their shrines and their faith are attacked.

鈥淚t鈥檚 life or death, and not only for me 鈥撀爊o Shiite will give up their Imam,鈥� says Abed Mohamed Jabbor, a body shop worker, after emerging from the inner sanctum of the shrine room.

Inside, a mosaic of mirrors illumines the sacred space, where rubbing by countless hands and lips has polished the metal frame. This is the epicenter of the Shiite world, a place that attracts millions of pilgrims every year, where concepts of defiance and sacrifice, of courage and love, can evoke idealism and soaring rhetoric among awestruck adherents.

聽鈥淚mam Hussein sacrificed himself for freedom, so although ISIS dreams of entering here they will never do it: Everyone will fight them, from the men and boys to the women and girls,鈥� says Abdulrahim Diwan al-Husseini, a retired military officer with gray stubble, as he steps away from the grave.聽鈥淲hen I finished my visit, I prayed to be a martyr, for my religion and my Imam,鈥� adds Mr. Husseini.

He registered as a volunteer to take up arms, answering the call聽last week by Iraq鈥檚 highest Shiite authority to defend Iraq and its holy shrines.聽Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani said the ISIS 鈥渢errorists鈥� should be challenged, and tens of thousands of recruits聽have risen up to respond.聽On Friday,聽the octogenarian cleric gave a more urgent warning, saying that if ISIS is not dislodged by fighting 鈥渢oday, all will feel sorry tomorrow."

In his fatwa, Ayatollah Sistani was also careful to call聽for national unity 鈥� in a refrain often repeated here 鈥� saying that Iraq鈥檚 Sunnis were not only brothers to Iraqi Shiites, but were the "same as ourselves.鈥� But yesterday he took a聽swipe at Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who has ruled Iraq with a strident Shiite-first policy since 2006. Sistani called for a new聽鈥渆ffective鈥� government that聽鈥渟hould open new horizons toward a better future for all Iraqis."聽

Iraq has been riven by sectarian killing sprees before. Sunni extremists聽ignited the most聽recent one in聽2006-2007, blowing up a shrine holy to Shiites in Samarra, north of Baghdad.聽Back then, Shiite militias operated death squads that tortured and killed Sunni captives, just as Al Qaeda in Iraq targeted Sunnis and cleansed mixed towns and districts.

More recently,聽ISIS has distinguished itself in聽Syria鈥檚 civil war with beheadings and several crucifixions; since capturing Mosul, it聽claims聽to have massacred 1,700 Shiite soldiers,聽among other atrocities.

ISIS 鈥渋deology is very radical, they don鈥檛 believe in living peacefully with others, so they are a danger not just for their sectarian enemy [Shiites], but also liberals and other Sunnis,鈥� says Seyed Afdhel al-Shami, the deputy head of the聽Imam Hussein聽shrine.

鈥淭hey are human monsters,鈥� says Mr. Shami of the 鈥渢hroat-slitting culture鈥� practiced by ISIS. 鈥淭hey are advancing and we should find and destroy them.鈥�

鈥淚 am a Shiite, and I don鈥檛 care who is prime minister, a Shiite, Sunni or a Kurd 鈥� just that this country can stand up and help the world,鈥� says another shrine official, Ali Salem. 鈥淢aybe [moderate Iraqi Sunnis] want their rights, and we are with them. But not this way, with explosions."

Why Karbala matters

聽For Shiites, the importance of Karbala 鈥撀爓ith its聽gilt dome of the Imam Hussein shrine and its two golden minarets聽rising聽above the dust blown in by surrounding deserts 鈥撀爎esonates far beyond Iraq鈥檚 borders. The shrine is聽surrounded by a maze of gritty, poor neighborhoods, laced with overhead electricity and telephone wires, and pock-marked with shops selling religious trinkets of Shiite saints. Often crammed into those alleyways are Shiite pilgrims from Iran to Lebanon to Pakistan to southeast Asia.聽

鈥淭he Iranian nation will not deny any attempts to defend the holy shrines,鈥� President Hassan Rouhani聽of predominantly Shiite Iran聽said this week. Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanon鈥檚 Shiite Hezbollah militia, said Iraq鈥檚 shrines were so great that Hezbollah was 鈥渨illing to sacrifice five times as much [for them] for them as we sacrificed in Syria.鈥�

Karbala's Gov. Akeel al-Toreihi says the saga of Imam Hussein is universal and in fact peaceful, despite the often bloody iconography and focus on martyrdom. On the plains of Karbala,聽Imam Hussein 鈥� a grandson of the prophet Muhammad 鈥� died with 72 followers as they were surrounded by tens of thousands of soldiers loyal to an unjust caliph called Yazid.聽Ever since he has been known to Shiites as the聽鈥淟ord of the Martyrs,鈥� whose qualities of faith and resistance are to be emulated. 聽

鈥淥f course we want to send this message to the world, that Imam Hussein refused to fight; they forced him to fight,鈥� says Mr. Toreihi. 鈥淭hey saw Imam Hussein crying, with tears on his cheeks. They asked him why, and he said, 鈥楩or the enemy, because they don鈥檛 know this is leading them to hell.鈥� He loves all humanity.鈥�

And there are other differences between Shiites and the extremists of ISIS, he says.聽鈥淓ven the ideology of jihad is different,鈥� says Toreihi. 鈥淥ur jihad is defending. Their jihad is attacking.鈥�

Inside the shrine, believers say their faith will protect them 鈥� just as Shiites have聽survived all these centuries as Islam's minority sect.鈥淚mam Hussein teaches us to be strong, courageous, to love each other and live in peace and with humility,鈥� says Husseini, the retired military officer. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 accept injustice鈥�. God created us to be free people, not to be slaves."聽

Tapping such sentiment to enlist real defenders of Karbala is not difficult, says Ali Hamadani, a tall man in a fine gray suit who is in charge of recruiting at the shrine. He says ISIS and Al Qaeda 鈥渁re not from Islam,鈥� and that even if his Shiite recruits don鈥檛 have cars to get to the front lines, 鈥渨e will crawl on our hands and knees.鈥�

鈥淎ccording to [Sistani鈥檚] fatwa, we prefer death over life,鈥澛爏ays Mr. Hamadani, with a flick of his yellow prayer beads. 鈥淚t is a holy death; it is with God for eternity."