Doctrinal foundation. Death of a prophet -- Birth of a revolutionary faith -- The Karbala complex -- Historical unfolding. In the battlefields of history -- In the company of kings, caliphs, and conquerors -- At the dawn of colonial modernity -- Visual and performing arts. Shi'ism and the crisis of cultural modernity -- On ressentiment and the politics of despair -- Toward an aesthetics of emancipation -- Contemporary contestations. Toward a new syncretic cosmopolitanism -- The un/making of a politics of despair -- Contemporary sites of contestation.