Shuhadā-yi Karbalā (Namād'hā va Manāsak-i ShĪ'Ī dar Īrān): Persian 1403

This work examines the patterns of change in Shia religious symbols and rituals during the past two centuries to show how modernity affects social, political, and religious culture in Iran. Muharram religious ritual is one of the rituals performed by Shiites. This ritual is held to commemorate the martyrs of Karbala. The war in which the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the third Imam of the Shiites, along with his family and followers, was martyred by Yazid bin Muawiya, one of the Umayyad caliphs. The symbols and rituals of the Muharram religion are among the most comprehensive and popular aspects of Islamic society and culture. This book follows the patterns and changes of religious symbols and rituals in three dimensions of Iranian life. These dimensions include the importance of this ritual in promoting social ties, status, identity, and beliefs. The author examines these issues in three periods: Qajar, Pahlavi, and the Islamic Republic. In a situation where the patterns of the government have been discontinuous in this field during the past two centuries, the role of this religion in popular society and culture has been considered relatively continuous or has been done independently of the government of the time.