Themartyrdomof Hussein carries a significance for Shia similar to Christ's crucifixion, according to GlobalSecurity.org, an international security group.
Brought before the Ottoman ruler with the connivance of hostile rabbis to answer charges of sedition, Sevi converted to Islam rather than face martyrdom, and accepted a sinecure as the Sultan's head gatekeeper.
They regard the denial of Ali's alleged right to succeed the prophet on his death, his subsequent murder, and themartyrdomof his son Hussein at Karbala (in present-day Iraq) later as seminal events.