Repeated failed Shia insurrections cast imams in a Christ-like sacrificial light.

Evidence

While the Sunni caliph exercised religious but not spiritual authority, the Shi ite imam was accorded a spiritual status by his followers, who saw in him the continuing embodiment of God’s guidance to the believers. As one imam pretender after another followed the path of insurrection and defeat, they ac­ quired, in the perception of their followers, an almost Christ-like quality, with the related themes of betrayal and suffering, passion and martyrdom, and even, ultimately, return. — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 1445

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Failed revolts forged Shia identity as perpetual minority — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans: Interpreting…, 1433
• yield-rescued: below the book’s yield-target cutoff, included anyway for connecting to: Failed revolts forged Shia identity as perpetual minority — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans: Interpreting…, 1433