Chapter 3 considers the development of the infamous martyrdom operations, or "suicide bombings," in the late twentieth century. Beginning by considering postcolonial experiences of Shi’i Muslims in 1980s West Asia, I argue for approaching two contexts of conflict—Lebanon and Iran—in tandem, due to their joint recognition of the Guardianship of the Jurisprudent Ayatollah Khomeini. Evaluating the ideological contributions of Shi’a history and Persian art forms, I trace the way the concepts of jihad—struggle in the way of God—and shahid—martyrdom—increasingly take martial shapes during the period, leading to the figure of the istishhadi who gives their life in an attack on the enemy. Both the explosive tactics of Hezbollah and the human wave attacks of Iran’s Basij forces are linked by the conception that willing self-sacrifice paves the way to realizing a divine kingdom on earth and filtered through the lens of Husayn’s battle at Karbala. Finally, I show the connection between the words of these martyrs and contemporary Shi’i authorities to the idea of commanding right and forbidding wrong, and the need to live life according to divine law regardless of the consequences.

The ʿAshura protests of 2009 also warrant their own chapter because of the profound meaning with which history infused them. The chapter presents a case study of post-Islamism in the person of Ayatollah Montazeri, who was originally an architect of the Islamic system but had become one of its severest critics. After a period of trial and error, the goal of the post-Islamist trend had become to save Islam from the state by fusing it with plurality and rights instead of dogmatism and duties. Montazeri died in December 2009—six months after the initial uprising—by which time repression by the state had either radicalized protesters or suppressed more moderate voices. The seventh day of mourning for his death fell on ‘Ashura 2009, and the ensuing day of action fused the two events, drawing on both the Iranian Revolution and wider Islamic history to imbue the protests with particular meaning.