The scenes from Dearborn, Michigan, where thousands of Shiite mourners marched through the streets to commemorate the 40th day of a death nearly 1,400 years old, deserve to be understood as more than material for internet debate.

The scenes from Dearborn, Michigan, where thousands of Shiite mourners marched through the streets to commemorate the 40th day of a death nearly 1,400 years old, deserve to be understood as more than material for internet debate.