In this paper I will argue that the theoretical and methodological apparatus of the French structuralist Claude Lévi-Strauss, with good results can be applied to much of early Islamic historiography. I will suggest that when this method is applied to the story of the death of Husayn b. `Alī at Karbalā’ in 680, one can deduce that the function of the character of Husayn in the text is that of a “mediator” in structuralist terms. This means that he acts both to keep polar oppositions apart, and that he allows for a bridging from one opposite to the other.