Ayatollah Sayyid Kazim Yazdi also ascended the pulpit in the shrine of the Commander of the Faithful (‘Ali) and called upon the people to defend. In Kazimayn, Shaykh Muhammad Mahdi al-Khalisi led a movement and issued a fatwa on the obligation of defending the Islamic lands. The second group in Hawiza, led by Shaykh Mahdi al-Khalisi, his son Shaykh Muhammad, Sayyid Muhammad Yazdi (son of Sayyid Kazim Yazdi), Shaykh Ja‘far Radi, and Sayyid Kamal Hilli. Meanwhile, the Ottomans began mistreating the Shi‘a, and during this same time, Sayyid Muhammad Sa‘id Habubi passed away. Amid the victories of the fighters, Ayatollah Shirazi suddenly passed away on August 17, 1920, and Shaykh al-Shari‘a Isfahani succeeded him.