foucault-and-the-iranian-revolution-janet-afary

Processions, Passion Plays, and Rites of Penance 43
the relentless persecution of Sunnis. He propagated a dogmatic and legalistic
reading of Twelver Shi'ism, and stressed the role of the imams as "mediators
and intercessors for man with god" (Momen 1985, 117). This new interpretation
aimed to transfer the public's devotion from the Sufi mystics to
the twelve Shi'ite imams. A 1695 edict prohibited all activities not approved
by the shariat. Wine from the royal court cellars was destroyed, and coffeehouses
shut down. Music, dance, gambling, backgammon, chess, opium, ami
herbs that induced hallucinations became illegal. The shah also banned many
previously acceptable social practices for women. Henceforth, for example,
women could not go on the streets unless they had a valid and legitimate
reason: "They should not stroll in gardens and go on pleasure promenades
with anyone other than their husbands. They should not loiter in public gatherings
(ma'rika). They were to move out of their private harem only with the
permission of their husbands or their male legal guardians" (Babayan 1996,
117-18).
Majlisi was the first major theologian to translate into Persian a wideranging
series of books and manuals on Shi'ite theology, history, and rituals,
rather than leaving them in Arabic, the language of the Quran. He also encouraged
travel to the shrines and sites of pilgrimage, such as Karbala, an
activity that the expansion of the Safavid Empire had made possible. Both of
these measures spread Shi'ism and its rituals farther throughout the whole
region (Taremi 1996, 98; Browne 1956, 4:404). Today, members ofthe various
Shi'ite denominations number about one hundred million and make up
some 10 percent of the world's Muslim population.
A Genealogy of Muharram Rituals
The twin concepts of jihad (in its broad definition, ranging from striving for
personal religious improvement to holy war in defending and expanding the
faith) and shahadat (martyrdom) appear in the Quran (sura 5, verse 35; sura
25, verse 52). There is also a large body of literature on the conditions and
circumstances under which jihad (in its narrow definition of holy war) is
required and martyrdom is encouraged (Abedi and Legenhausen 1986). But
in Shi'ism, because of the central narrative of Muharram, the themes of martyrdom
and unjust usurpation of power by earthly rulers are even more pronounced
than in Sunni Islam.
Devout Iranian Shi'ites commemorate and reenact the events of Karbala
and the martyrdom of Hussein and Ali in three ways. First, there is a dramatic
narration of the life and the suffering of the saints, the rowzeh khvani. This is a
social gathering of relatives, neighbors, and guild members at one's garden or