Pilgrimage to Karbala: Who are the Shia?: Battle of Karbala
The Shia rejected the authority of the Umayyad dynasty, claiming that the Umayyads were usurpers and demanding that leadership go to the direct descendants of the Prophet. The Shia rose in the city of al-Kufah (south of Karbala, in present-day Iraq) and, in 680 A.D., invited Ali's son Hussein to join them and be their leader.
Mar 26th, 2007