Heinz Halm’s “Shi’a Islam: From Religion to Revolution”
In his 176-page volume, the leading German Islamist, Heinz Halm is able to trace the roots of the Iranian Revolution back throughout the history of the Shi’ism. Contrary to many western thinkers and Iranian militants, Halm feels as though Shi’i Islam’s character was not inherently revolutionary, but that the transition to revolution marked a milestone and a watershed in the history of Shi’i thought and history. The title of his book, “Shi’a Islam: From Religion to Revolution” really synopsizes Halm’s point quite adequately. Heinz Halm is currently a professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Tubingen and is the author of numerous other works on Sunni Islam, Shi’ism and Isma’ilism. Some of his works include: “The Empire of the Mahdi”, “The Rise of the Fatimids”, and “Shi’ism”.
“Shi’a Islam: From Religion to Revolution” is broken up into three sections, which play their respective parts in relaying Halm’s message. Part 1 deals directly with the origins of Shi’ism and is labeled “The House of Sorrows: The Twelve Imams.” In this section Halm attributes Abu Miknaf’s report of the Campaign of the Penitents or tawwabun to be of the key documents that allows us to understand the emergence of early Shi’ism. Halm went as far as to say that Abu Miknaf’s text and, therefore what is related in it, “already demonstrated all the essential elements that characterize the Shi’i religion today.” He went on to say that the “self accusations of the partisans…peaked in acknowledgement of their own shame and their desire to atone for this (the massacre at Karbala) with death.” Halm’s thesis in this section is that self-sacrifice characteristic of the Shi’is was exemplified, and even developed in this march of the tawwabun. And, this particular characteristic was politically instrumentalized during the revolution of 1979 and during the war with Iraq. Further, Halm traces the non-political character of the following Imams, especially Ja’far Assadiq. Halm further delves into the roles that the Fourteen Infallible Ones played in Shi’i theology, and as well the significance of the Occultation of the Twelfth Imam. He expresses that with the absence of the Twelfth Imam there was a lapse in the duties of the Imam, which over time had to be taken over by ‘ulama.
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...ut the monopolistic position of the mujtahids and their claim to be emulated by their followers. Eventually the Akbaris would fade out into the periphery and by the nineteenth century the Usulis managed to gain widespread acceptance throughout the Shi’i world, and Halm claims that it had a key impact in transforming the role of the ‘ulama.
The transformation, however, that Halm refers to occurred in the hands of Khumayni and Ali Shari’ati who managed to develop a “modern revolutionary ideology wrapped in traditional Shi’i images and symbols.” Shari’ati and his fellow idealogues, Halm claims, were guilty of dismissing fourteen hundred years of history and their goals were inherently very ahistoric and utopian. The de-ritualization of the ‘Ashura customs and elimination of the eschatological expectations of the Mahdi were responsible in transforming the Shi’i doctrine into a revolutionary ideology. Halm concludes by saying that revolutions do not develop from religious causes, but have political, economic and social triggers. And, like all modern revolutionary movements, the Iranian Revolution played upon a manipulated re-writing of history to benefit the momentum of the movement.
Not only did the religious history play a large role in Iran’s beliefs but also foreign invaders have been imposing their power on the Iranian region for thousands of years. Iran...
Livingston, John W., and Al-Jabarti. "The Rise of Shaykh al-Balad 'Ali Bey al-Kabir: A Study in
“Religion” is an inherently social creation which functions to naturalize certain behaviors and ideologies to maintain social order (Martin 94). In his book “A Critical Introduction to the Study of Religion”, Craig Martin introduces the concept of a “cultural toolbox”, comprised of the concepts, values, traditions, icons, figures, texts, and stories in a culture that represent and reinforce the elements of the society (97-98). To maintain social order and convince others to conform to the proposed, religions employ a tactic known as “legitimation” to justify traditions, practices, and ideologies using the “cultural toolbox” of a society (Martin 94).
There are two declarations of faith in Islam: That there is only one God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God. In Memories of Muhammad, Omid Safi explores the ways in which Muhammad – both the historical and spiritual Muhammad – is remembered, commemorated, and contested by Muslims throughout the centuries. Safi focuses on the movements and moments in Muhammad’s life and after his death that for many Muslims best exemplify the teachings of Islam. He succeeds in opening up the dialogue to correct the negative portrayals of Muhammad and the religion of Islam, calling it a “Muhammad problem” in his introduction. Furthermore, he provides a book that is accessible and intelligible to both Muslims and non-Muslims, drawing from historical and spiritual sources, and addresses relevant issues contested between Muslims in relation to other religions, presenting Muhammad as a historical figure and one who is beloved by the Umma.
1989 [7] Cleveland, William L. A History of the Modern Middle East. Westview Press, Colorado. 2000. [8] Milani, Mohsen M. The Making of Iran’s Islamic Revolution. From monarchy to Islamic Republic Westview Press Inc.
Thomas W. Lippman gives an introduction to the Muslim world in the book Understanding Islam. He has traveled throughout the Islamic world as Washington Post bureau chief for the Middle East, and as a correspondent in Indochina. This gave him, in his own words, "sharp insight into the complexities of that turbulent region." However, the purpose of the book is not to produce a critical or controversial interpretation of Islamic scripture. It is instead to give the American layman an broad understanding of a religion that is highly misunderstood by many Americans. In this way he dispels many myths about "Muslim militants," and the otherwise untrue perception of Islamic violence. In this way the American reader will become more knowledgeable about an otherwise unfamiliar topic. However, the most significant element of Lippman’s book is that it presents Islam in a simple way that makes the reader feels his awareness rise after each chapter. This encourages him to continue learning about the world’s youngest major religion. Understanding Islam dispels many misconceptions about the Muslim world, and presents the subject in a way that urges his reader to further his understanding of Islam through continued study.
Hilāl, ʻAlī Al-Dīn. Islamic Resurgence in the Arab World. New York, NY: Praeger, 1982. Print.
Islam is a monotheistic and Abrahamic religion alongside Judaism and Christianity. It is currently the second largest religion in the world today. Its beliefs come from the Qur'an which literally means "the recitation" which is believed to be a literal transcription of the word of God. Its main prophet is named Muhammad who began Islam by speaking with the angel Gabriel in a cave during his meditation and then acting as an instrument of God to help write the Qur’an. Muhammad then spread Islam to the scattered tribes of Arabia by becoming the leader of Yathrib and using his wonderful leadership abilities to then grow his influence over virtually all of Arabia. Muhammad is known by Muslims to be the seal of the profits because no profits after Muhammad should be considered legitimate. Muhammad also left behind the Hadith or “tradition” which is a collection of writings compiled of reports of Muhammad’s actions as leader of Yathrib. These reports are used as a more specific code of ethics in day to day life and from these reports the 5 Pillars of Islam are derived (Smith 160). Although Islam shares many similarities to Judaism and Christianity it is often viewed in the US with hate derived from preconceived notions following the attack on September 11th 2001. This paper seeks to provide an overview of Islam’s history as well as its two major sects and 5 main pillars to remove preconceived notions and provide a glance into the minds of the Islamic people.
Over the course of the last century, the Islamic Republic of Iran (formerly known as Persia) has seen colonialism, the end of a dynasty, the installation of a government by a foreign power, and just over three decades ago, the popular uprising and a cleric-led revolution. These events preceded what could be considered the world’s first Islamic state, as politics and fundamentalist religion are inextricably linked in contemporary Iran. Looking at Iran from the mid 1940’s until the present day, one can trace the path that led to the rise of fundamental Islam in Iran in three distinct periods. The first is that which began with the rise of secular nationalism and the decline of Islam. In the second, the secular, western-friendly government eventually gave way to the Islamic revival in the form of a government takeover by hard-line clerics and disillusioned, fundamentalist youth; both motivated and led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Rule of Iran by these fundamentalist clerics then led to the formation of the fundamentalist Islamic theocracy that governs present-day Iran. The current government has some democratic appearances, but all real power is in the hands of the supreme leader, an Ayatollah who is chosen by the Assembly of Experts, a group of clerics chosen by the Guardian Council. With the Iranian Revolution, political Islam was born, with the fundamentalists holding the reins of power in Iran to the present day.
Ludwig, P. (1999). Iranian Nation and Islamic Revolutionary Ideology. Die Welt des islams. 39(2). 183-217.
Although the Iranian Revolution was both a political and religious movement in that it resulted in major shifts in government structure from an autocracy to a republic and that Islamic beliefs were fought to be preserved, it was more a religious movement in that the primary goal of the people was to preserve traditional ideology and in that the government became a theocracy intertwined with religious laws and desires of the people. Although the Iranian Revolution was caused by combination of political and religious motivations and ideas, the desires of the people supporting the movement were more dominantly religious ideas that were wished to be imposed in society and in a new government. The Shah, or king, of Iran at the time was Muhammad Reza Pahlavi, who had developed relations with nations in the “western” world, specifically with the United States. The United States supported the White Revolution, which was a series of social reformations the Shah made to remove Islamic values, law and tradition from the government to boost the country’s economy (White Revolution, 2010).... ...
The Islamic tradition, as reflected in Naguib Mahfouz’s Zaabalawi, has over the course of history had an incredible impact on Arab culture. In Mahfouz’s time, Islamic practices combined with their political relevance proved a source of both great power and woe in Middle Eastern countries. As alluded to in Zaabalawi, Mahfouz asserts the fact that not all Muslims attain religious fulfillment through this common tradition, and other methods outside the scope of Islam may be necessary in true spiritual understanding.
The Iranian Revolution, “was the 1979 overthrow of Iran 's monarchy and the establishment of an Islamic Republic. Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi was replaced by the cleric Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The revolution established religious leaders as the ruling class and integrated fundamentalist Islamic law into all aspects of the government, military, and public and private enterprise” (Definition of Islamic Revolution). The symbolism that is associated within the novel shows her rebellious stages such as, smoking a cigarette due to the amount of deaths that occurred in the revolution. Satrapi became curious about her surroundings and she seeks for knowledge and information about the Iranian Revolution in different ways such as reading.
On the Harmony of Religion and Philosophy gives us insight to the philosophical views of a certain sect of Islam, and how it influenced it 's followers to view the world around them. Although it is helpful, this is written from a very biased position and it cannot be said that the views of the author are the views of Muslim culture as a whole. There is a constant attack on another religious group throughout the article that helps us to understand what this specific sect deems right and wrong through comparison of the groups.
...writer starts the essay by stating the basic fudamentals of Muslim's beleif and action. Then she connects this idea with beleifs and actions shown and inplied through the media. After that, the media images are connected with the fact that the images cause fear and stereotypes; the teachings that correct the stereotypes are also linked. Next the teachings are connected with the Quran and the leaders and groups who misunderstand and violate the teachings. After that, the five pillars of Islam are explained, described and defined. Finally, it is explained how the pillars affect Muslims by defining their character and lives. All of these ideas are organized so that they are logically linked with the writer's strategy. The writer's strategy includes explainations, the use of examples, and comparison and contrast, to support each idea claimed and to define a "true" Muslim.