Search Results (4)

This article for the first time examines the activities of transnational information campaigns initiated by young Shiʿa Muslims across European, Russian, and Armenian cities. These campaigns aim to disseminate knowledge about Imam Hussain and his mission to non-Shiʿa audiences. The campaigns serve as vivid examples of the struggles faced by Muslims in relatively hostile contexts as they seek integration and acceptance as law-abiding and peaceful citizens. They also represent new avenues of Islamic activism, focusing on dismantling stereotypes and correcting “misunderstandings” within host societies. Drawing on semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and an analysis of campaign handouts and social media content between 2018 and 2024, this study explores how campaigners adapt the narrative of the Karbala tragedy—widely regarded as the metahistorical cornerstone of Shiʿa identity—to make it accessible and relevant to external audiences. These strategies enable campaigners to engage with out-group communities, testing and refining effective methods for presenting this pivotal historical event. The findings reveal that, through this process, the Karbala narrative undergoes both content-based and linguistic modifications, while the concept of justice—central to the commemoration of this tragedy—is reinterpreted in new contexts. This research contributes to the understanding of transnational Islamic activism and highlights the importance of strategic communication in fostering intercultural dialogue and promoting mutual understanding in diverse societies. Full article

This paper examines the philosophy of martyrdom, heroism, and death, with reference to Islam in general and Shiʿism in particular. This paper will be divided into two parts; the first will highlight the etymological and philosophical significance of the Arabic term martyrdom (istishhād) and its interrelation with the notion of testimony (shahāda), allowing for the clarification of the complexity of the existential privation of death and the communality of heroic martyrdom. The second part will move beyond the observation of Qurʾanic canonical sources by traversing traditional Shiʿi references and narratives, allowing for a reflection on the articulation of the ontology of martyrdom, such as its temporal horizon and mortality. Consequently, the state of affairs surrounding the phenomenon of heroic martyrdom embodies testimonies of both love and hate, of belongingness and enmity, and of devotion and hostility. Yet, the identification of such heroism is, in practice, coupled with a tacit sense of a Heideggerian ‘fall’ due to its inseparability from the pull of religious, social, and communal violence and aggression. Thus, in both theory and practice, a phenomenology of heroic martyrdom and death takes into account the ideological and societal contexts of the use of violence and the concrete rituals in its mediation of aggression. Full article

Instead of arguing whether or not Sayyid ʿAlī Muḥammad Shīrāzī (the Bāb, 1819–1850) and his writings are Islamic, this paper suggests that they are simultaneously Islamic and post-Islamic. The Bāb’s Qayyūm al-asmāʾ, written at the outset of the Bābī movement in 1844, can be understood as a commentary on the Quran, the original Quran, and divine revelation. Although the Bāb gradually disclosed his identity to the public, his status (associated with the Imām, Muḥammad, and a manifestation of God) is present in the Qayyūm al-asmāʾ, in which he refers to himself as the Gate (Bāb), Remembrance (Dhikr), Point (Nuqṭah), ʿAlī, and Muḥammad. The Bāb participates in the long tradition of Islamic literary culture by creating meaning through metaphorical, symbolic, and paradoxical language, which for the Bāb ultimately point to post-Islamic revelation. The simultaneous absence and presence of Islam in the Bāb’s writings created a real-world division between the Bāb’s followers and his critics, many of whom were Muslim scholars. By focusing on multiple meanings in the Bāb’s texts, this paper analyzes the interplay between the Bāb’s identity and his writings as they relate to Islam. Full article

A new religious nationalism has evolved in the Islamic Republic of Iran as a means to reconcile the contestation between the Persian ethnic (Iraniyat) and the Islamic (Islamiyat) elements, which has marked Iranian nationalism since its inception. The new synthesis identifies Shiʿism with Iran and associates Sunni Islam with Arab tribalism. It commends Iran’s pre-Islamic cultural attributes and highlights its contribution to Islam. Concurrently, it presents Shiʿism as key factor in the endurance of Iranian nationalism and the preservation of Iran’s independence. It culminates with the claim that the Iranians are “God’s favorite nation,” destined to lead the Muslim world. Full article