Ashura and Cultural Change in Iran

Changes in the forms of commemorating Ashura-related rituals in recent years in Iran have drawn attention, and discussions about the execution style, music, poetry, clothing, and symbols of mourning and chest-beating have become a widespread topic on social media and Iranian and Persian media. Despite the Iranian government's efforts in the years following the revolution to establish an official form of mourning and the cultural symbols that are exploited in it, the forms of mourning and their cultural symbols have been more influenced by cultural changes in Iranian society and evolving social conditions. Senior clerics in government propaganda agencies and cultural officials have repeatedly expressed their sensitivity to this trend, voicing concerns about what they consider cultural deviations. The Iranian government's recommendations have generally had two main directions. On one hand, there is an emphasis on avoiding traditions such as self-flagellation, which the government believes leads to an inappropriate representation of Shi'ism globally, and on the other hand, the use of modern instruments and various popular music by the youth is condemned as signs of distortion of Ashura rituals. In the first two decades after the Iranian revolution, the government had some ability to control and supervise the pulpits and mourning groups organizing Muharram ceremonies. However, from the late 1970s onwards, following the government's policy of expanding mourning halls and mourning groups, the number of mourning groups grew to such an extent that the government's control and that of clerics affiliated with the Islamic Propaganda Organization and Friday prayer leaders over the organizers of mourning ceremonies became practically impossible. This situation may reflect the historical reality that Ashura rituals have always been influenced by broader cultural conditions in Iran. Ashura as an Iranian and political ritual Many cultural scholars believe that the early Ashura rituals in Iran were influenced by cultural backgrounds in Iran, such as the mourning rituals for Siyavash, elements of Iranian music, the epic storytelling of the Shahnameh, Persian miniature painting, and local folklore. Researchers have also spoken of the influence of certain Christian traditions related to carrying the cross and flagellation and the sanctity of the blood of the crucified martyr, which were prevalent in various regions of vast Iran during the Middle Ages. This collection of ritual backgrounds, along with the growth of Shi'ism in the 3rd and 4th centuries AH, led to the establishment of specific forms of Ashura rituals during the rule of the Buyid dynasty in central Iran. The Buyid rulers, who traced their lineage to the Sasanian kings, were the first rulers of Iran who, in the first half of the 4th century, formalized Ashura rituals to demonstrate their adherence to Shi'ism. Historical evidence shows that during the Buyid era, the Muharram rituals, alongside those related to Mehrgan and Nowruz, were among the official rituals of the government. It is clear that the Buyids used this cultural backing and its formalization to demonstrate their legitimacy against their rivals and enemies, namely the Abbasid caliphs ruling Baghdad, who presented themselves as the legitimate rulers of the Islamic world based on Sunni sects. During the Safavid era, the Ashura ritual became an official ritual that reflected the ideology and official identity of the government. This position was maintained during the Qajar period, and Naser al-Din Shah, through actions such as building the Tekiyeh Dowlat in Tehran, which was influenced by foreign architecture, effectively introduced himself as a promoter of mourning rituals during Ashura. In the Pahlavi era, Ashura rituals lost their official status and, in the 1950s, practically fell out of government control and became the exclusive domain of clerics who gradually sought greater independence from government oversight. The significant growth of mosques and mourning halls in the 1950s in cities led to the expansion of urban traditions in commemorating Ashura. A large part of this expansion was due to the influx of rural residents to cities and the development of urban marginalization following land reforms in the 1940s and the increase in government oil revenues. This transformation turned the Muharram and Ashura rituals into a weapon in the hands of clerics against the Shah in the years 1976 and 1977. Ashura and Cultural Innovation A historical assessment of Ashura rituals in form and content shows that these rituals, regardless of their political and social importance for the communities that hold them and for Shiite clerics, have had two cultural functions: Ashura rituals have served as a means to preserve Iranian rituals and symbols that could not remain solely by referring to their Iranian identity in the era of religious dominance, especially under the rule of Shiite Islam. A striking example of this endurance can be seen in the elements of Iranian music that have persisted in Ashura lamentations. On the other hand, Ashura rituals, due to their widespread social base and the active presence of the most dynamic social groups, have always reflected cultural innovations in society. Some of these innovations were supported by Iranian kings during the Buyid, Safavid, and Qajar periods for political exploitation. Clerics have also used Ashura mourning as a platform for political activity independent of the government since the Constitutional Revolution, and since then, Ashura has been used as a platform for recounting religious reformism. The most prominent example of this exploitation is Ali Shariati's intellectual effort to change the perspective on Ashura symbols. This effort was utilized by clerics under the leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini in the years 1976 and 1977. Ashura: Intellectuals, Mourning Leaders, Youth, and Isolated Groups The deep cultural roots and social breadth of Ashura rituals as the only form of widespread civil and religious gathering in urban Iranian society have gradually led the government to refrain from exercising control over innovative forms in mourning rituals. The Islamic Republic, while maintaining official religious centers and mourning groups affiliated with the government and managing streets and alleys with the help of the Basij and police, seeks to manage the public output of mourning groups in a way that does not fall outside the framework of the government's official propaganda. However, beyond this macro-level control, at the micro-level, it has inevitably retreated in the face of various innovative forms in Ashura rituals: independent intellectuals, mourning leaders, youth, and isolated groups are the four main sources of innovation in Ashura rituals that challenge the official narrative of the government. The trend of innovation based on religious reformism in the years following the revolution faced opposition from the government. The most prominent example of this opposition can be seen in the ruling clerics' prevention of the publication of the book 'The Movement of Husseini' by Morteza Motahhari, which the government prevented from being published. The works of Ali Shariati on Ashura were also gradually collected from libraries. However, a milder form of this reinterpretation of Ashura continued in the efforts of intellectuals like Bahram Beyzai, who wrote 'The Day of the Event' in 1982. The latest example of these efforts can be seen in the puppet show of Ashura, the text of which was written by Behrouz Gharibpour, and its musical performance recently faced protests from extremists who claimed that a female solo singer performed in this music. Mourning leaders, who once played a role on the sidelines of clerics' pulpits during mourning ceremonies, have recently become the main actors on the scene and have effectively ended the clerics' dominance over mourning assemblies and groups. The dominance of mourning leaders, although it granted more power to a group of government-supported mourning leaders in the political arena, has effectively reduced the political dominance of clerics over mourning assemblies. The youth who entered mourning scenes in the late 1990s and 2000s and joined groups, unlike the youth of the 1950s and the youth during the Iran-Iraq war, who were more attached to the epic aspects of Ashura and its political meanings, were enamored with the ritual forms of mourning and especially Ashura music. Especially since the gatherings of Muharram provided an opportunity for girls, boys, women, and men from various social classes to create a freer and more dynamic social space away from the restrictions and prohibitions imposed by the government. The most important signs of innovation from this group of youth can be seen in the formation of a specific type of music and fashion and hairstyles that closely resemble the popular music forms and personalities favored by young people. The presence of youth in mourning groups has reached a point where in recent years, a kind of formal and content exchange can be observed between mourning leaders and singers and musicians of popular music favored by urban youth, especially in large cities. The fourth independent source of innovation in Ashura rituals is independent mourning groups, which, if we do not consider them underground, at least we must regard them as religious groups separate from the mainstream supported by the government. These isolated religious groups have managed to continue their existence independently of the influence of the managers of religious groups in the Islamic Propaganda Organization, largely relying on their ethnic or local independence. An example of these isolated religious groups can be seen in a mourning group in Yazd that, through innovation in the lyrics of lamentations and even the use of poems by modern poets like Sohrab Sepehri, has reinforced the belief that despite the government's dominance, many religious groups in Iran still seek to maintain cultural and political authenticity independent of the government. All these developments indicate that the Ashura ritual continues to maintain its social position to preserve and represent cultural transformations in Iran and sometimes formalize cultural innovations.