The Shi'ite clergy, with Khomeini as a popular leader, would use the Shi'ite sense of history as a powerful weapon against the Pahlavi Shah, aligning themselves with figures such as 'Ali and Hussein, the third successor to 'Ali who was killed by the second Umayyad caliph, and aligning the Pahlavi government with the evil forces that through history have oppressed the truly faithful.