ABSTRACT
IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND the Ta′ziyeh as a form of performing art we need to understand that most of its elements, such as plot, character, diction, thought, spectacle and song, have been taken directly from the Shi′a branch of Islam. Consequently, it is absolutely necessary to understand the nature of this faith. This is particularly vital because, despite the fact that Islam is one of the world’s great religions and has over one billion followers, very few Westerners know about its central beliefs. Indeed, Islam has been so misunderstood and feared in the Western world that all kinds of fictions have been invented about it.1
