NOOSH ABAD, IRAN - NOVEMBER 13: Iranian Shiite Muslims enact the story of killing Imam Hussein during the annual religious performance of "Taazieh" November 13, 2013 in Noosh Abad near the central city of Kashan, Iran. The event marks the mourning period of Ashura commemorations, in which Imam Hussein, grandson of Islam's Prophet Mohammed, was killed by armies of the caliph Yazid near Karbala in 680 AD. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

Ashoura puts Iranian politics in context

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NOOSH ABAD, IRAN - NOVEMBER 13: Iranian Shiite Muslims enact the story of killing Imam Hussein during the annual religious performance of "Taazieh" November 13, 2013 in Noosh Abad near the central city of Kashan, Iran. The event marks the mourning period of Ashura commemorations, in which Imam Hussein, grandson of Islam's Prophet Mohammed, was killed by armies of the caliph Yazid near Karbala in 680 AD. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

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