This entry is different than my previous posts on Video Vortex #9 (I, II, III). While the notion of spectatorship and the aesthetic aspects around it defined the focus of my thoughts previously, here, I aim my analysis on the act of messaging, reporting or propagating. The current lines of thought now look at the position of the creator, someone we call the Citizen Reporter. We must consider the cultural and traditional backgrounds of the Citizen Reporter as the “cause” and the circumstances of his or her activism as the effect in context of contemporary Iran. As such, the dynamic relationship between the cause and the effect forcing the country to go through its current socio-political progress. This progress can be named Ouroboros. It is a difficult process containing censorship, violent media repression, depression, arrests and occasional death of media activists and citizen reporters.1
If we are to look at some of the most basic philosophies taught, propagated, and manifested constitutionally (and by default institutionally) by the Islamic Republic after the 1979 Iranian Revolution we can name actions like censorship and information manipulation as a contradiction towards their own doctrines. It is known that some of the Republic’s security organs undertake these actions against local, independent, and critical citizen journalists. The most violent of these actions have been taking place since the uprising of the Green Movement in 2009. One of the most important historical doctrines that I will detail in this text in relation to these events explains the chronology of Ashura at the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE and the subsequent Ashura Mourning Ceremony. This is a ritual that is still practiced annually in Iran and other places inhabited by Shia believers.2
I am aware that the main argument of this text is not new; specifically for the academic’s it won’t be a premier. In this case, the contribution of my text to the ongoing socio-political discourse is less of a political contribution and more of a cultural and contemporary endeavor. It is an attempt at mapping between a post-modern cultural phenomenon such as “transparency” and “reality” (as established by newer versions of communication technologies) with an ancient spiritual doctrine that teaches the religious duty of embracing the act of narrating and disclosing crime and violence.
Throughout the introductory portion of this text I have tried to assimilate myself with a specific tone that fits the grammar of educational propaganda of the Islamic Republic. I do this in order to show how it can appear when a snake tries to eat its own tail. In order to reflect this fact, I have quoted and referenced sources related to the field of education from post-revolution Iran when describing the basics of Shia religious teachings. These descriptions may or may not mirror my own political or spiritual opinion.
The Battle of Karbala
Hussain Ibn Ali, the grandson of the prophet Mohammad and the third Imam of the Shia died on October 13th, 680 CE or the Day of Ashura. This day is also considered the melting point between the religious sect with the socio-political struggle of the Shia people. This event has also manifested certain personality traits in Shia members. The sect defines a society in minority–the opposition–born out of an uprising against the imperial and feudal structures in the newly developed Islamic community.3 Therefore, to protest, to criticize and to resist ruling power structures is traditionally one of the first teaching principles of Shia belief.4 The Shia version of Islamic history claims that the teachings of the Qoran were instrumentalized by the Umayyad Dynasty in order to gain power among the people for their imperial goals just few years after the Mohammad’s death.5 With this belief, it is the Shia duty to reclaim the commandeered Islam faith. The more fundamentalist type of Shia believers go further to claim thata Shia must sacrifice himself on the way to reclaiming the roots of Islam, even with joy, and become a Shahid (martyr) if necessary. This is the only path to encounter the Truth, as Imam Hussain and his seventy-two followers did on the Day of Ashura during the Battle of Karbala.6 It was there that Hussain Ibn Ali and his followers fought restlessly against Yazid I, refuting the Umayyad Dynasty ruler as the Islamic Caliph, or leader. Hussain Ibn Ali and his followers stood against 80,000 Umayyad soldiers and sacrificed themselves willingly. During the battle Hussain and his army were scattered mercilessly. Their feet, hands, and heads (including those of his 6 month old son named Ali Asghar) were cut from their bodies and put on lances. Women, including Zainab the sister of Hussain, children, and the elderly were taken captive by Yazid I and brought to Kufah, then to Sham (present-day Damascus) to show off Umayyad’s rightful power.
Hussain was living in Medina (Saudi Arabia) at the time of the battle and was betrayed by the citizens of Kufah. The people invited Hussain to move to their city in order to lead and teach them. On his way, Hussain was captured and held on the grounds of Karbala for 10 days. He was denied water and was prodded into battle if he did not accept Yazid I as the Caliph of the Muslim world. Advisors and supporters as warned Hussain before the move, but he went on to Kufah because of the duty prescribed in Shia theology. A famous Hadith, or religious quote, of Hussain reads, “I have raised up because of amre be maroof va nahy az monkar7, in order to keep Islam alive”.8
Zainab, the Media
In the major Umayyad cities, such as Kufah and Sham, the public opinion about Hussain and his goals remained negative due to the strong propaganda system of Yazid I. The true chronology of the Karbala battle was systematically manipulated by the ruling Umayyad class. This time could be considered as a moment of historical manipulation, a sensitive moment that could mislead and conclude with the smooth continuation of the Umayyad Dynasty and the roots of Shia to vanish completely.9
Zainab, one of the few survivors and witnesses of the battle on Ashura, was considered to be “an expressive and eloquent speaker” and narrator.10 She became one the most important messengers, be it in the court of Yazid or in the streets of Kufah or Sham, to the citizens and to the Umayyad’s ministers and ambassadors.11. It was she who disclosed the chronology of the Battle to the public. Being in the position of Mufti, or an issuer of fatwa, Zeinab relayed the chronicles of the Battle of Karbala as a duty towards the Truth.12 This action caused a shift in public opinion about Yazid I and placed pressure on him. To this extent, he allowed remaining captives to mourn the martyrdom of Hussain and his soldiers. It is known that these rituals, the formsand gestures of the extreme expression of sadness from the mourners, emotionally influenced the citizens of Sham so much that Yazid I feared there would be an uprising against him.13 He saw his power in danger. He decided to free Zainab and the other captives, allowing unwillingly for the further distribution of the chronologies of the Battle of Karbala in the Islamic world.
Zainab used the amount of free (virtual) space given by Yazid (i.e. the right to mourn) smartly; she transformed the mourning ceremonies into platforms of expression and demonstration against the crime’s of an imperial ruling power. Essentially, she became Media, and the mourning ceremonies became Medium influencing or manipulating the public opinion in her favor by using particular forms of narration and embodiment. “The reasons why the captive status of The Family has changed were two plans realized by Saint Zainab: first, holding various speeches, and second, mourning for the martyrs of Karbala. These were practiced proportionally in any public occasion in order to wake up all those who were manipulated by the Umayyad propaganda”.14
Ashura Mourning Ceremony, the Medium
The aesthetics and performances of the Ashura Mourning Ceremonies today relate to what Zainab manifested during her captivity in Kufah and Sham as well as to other traditional and contemporary forms of mourning rituals from the ancient Iranian culture. Here we will not go too deep into the formal roots of the various ritualistic approaches, but merely provide an overview.
Three major forms of Ashura rituals can be named as the most popular forms practiced in Iran:
In Pardeh-Khani (Reading of a Curtain) a storyteller narrates and reenacts, in front of a painting, stories about the Battle of Karbala. The paintings, usually approached in the style of ancient Persian miniature, depict a time spam that involves the pre and post period of the Karbala battle. Hussain, Shemr, Yazid, Zainab, religious characters like angels and many others involved in the epic are displayed in a long, single frame. The storyteller’s way of narration, his movements and gestures in front of the painting provide all a dramatic character to this ritual, much like a newscaster or reporter. Pardeh-Khani was initially used as a form for distributing historical knowledge, similar to what we call today newsor education. Here, moral and social values were communicated through narrating both fictitious and factual epic events. Reading the Battle of Karbala based on a painting has remained one of the three major rituals of the Ashura Mourning Ceremonies to this day.
Tazieh (Condolence Theater) is a form of theater produced, directed and acted by a neighborhood community for the members of the same neighborhood. Fathers, sons and brothers of various families distribute the roles of Hussain, Zainab, Shemr, Yazid and other religious characters equally among each other. The actors in Tazieh theaters portray multiple roles and genders throughout the course of action. It is important to showcase the individual’s true identity as well, so the actors hold the script in their hands to read or sing out of it during the play. The stage of Tazieh does not provide a single perspective through which the spectator should observe the scene, similar to the style of painting from Pardeh-Khani. The stage in Tazieh is round and open. The spectators sit around or on top the stage. The Distancing Effect, as we now knowfrom Brechtian Theater can be experienced literally during Tazieh performances. Here, the aspect of illusion and entertainment is not considered as important as the communication of content, in this case the chronology of Karbala on Ashura.
Maddahi (Singing) / Sineh Zani (Chest Beating) is a particular form of narrating or singing Hadiths, or metaphoric lines of poetry, as well as stories that are related to the Battle of Karbala. Maddahi events usually take place in a Heyat, either in Mosques that are transformed into a Heyat, or temporary buildings that are sponsored by the richer members of the community during the 10 days of the Ashura Mourning Ceremony. Each Heyat has its own resident Maddah, or singer. Occasionally, guest Maddahs are invited to join other communal Heyats. Over the course of 10 days people from the neighborhood gather in their favorite Heyat and listen to the songs of the Maddah and follow with rhythmical chest beating and chanting. In these cases, the event transforms into a Sineh Zani. This is currently the most popular form of an Ashura Mourning procedure.
In contemporary times, many Heyats are state sponsored. These institutionally built Heyats define the more extreme forms of Ashura Mourning Ceremonies in which the core concept of Ashura Mourning becomes secondary to the distribution and fabrication of a direct political state ideology. Heyats are traditionally considered to be places of open critique towards the ruling power structure. Participants use the Hadiths and metaphoric stories to narrate and propagate their critical view towards the ruling system. This sentiment does not remain in Heyats organized by the government in Tehran. In looking at documentation from provinces and other cities in Iran, one is able to observe the traditional concepts that lay behind Maddahi and Sineh Zani events.
Disclosing Truth
In referencing the Ashura and the position of Zainab within Shia history, the notions of messaging, reporting and disclosing the truth becoming clear as crucial teachings of Shia theology. In the case of governmental media institutions in Iran, for example the national radio and television network, disclosing and reporting the truth are often confused with conspiracy theory. This results in numerous films and other media productions defining the Western World’s desire to fight and overthrow the Islamic Republic.
However, in the case of citizens more or less independent from governmental institutions, the Shia taught duty of disclosing and reporting is embraced in order to transmit the despotism, apartheid, military crime and violence against the opposition that is practiced by the ruling power in Iran. There is an entire movement within Shia in which the Maddahi and Pardeh-Khani ceremonies transform into platforms for performing and expressing critique towards the system, in Iran, towards the Islamic Republic.
The following video, Nedaye Ashura, was made by an anonymous person and put on YouTube just before the Ashura period in 2009. It showcases a religious painting depicting Hussain Ibn Ali and some of the events that took place during the Battle of Karbala that has been transformed into an epic image about the riots and killings that took place in 2009 as part of the Green Movement Uprising. In the video, the images of Hussain, Zainab, and their followers have been replaced by images of activists, demonstrators and the so-called “Martyrs of the Green Movement”. The Umayyad watchdogs are represented as the Basijis and as the military police suppressing the citizens violently.
The sound in the video, called Nedaye Ashura (Neda of Ashura), is from an unknown Tazieh ceremony, narrating the event of Karbala. This name has two meanings. Neda is the name of a girl who was shot a demonstration in June 2009 in Tehran. A graphic video of her death went viral on the Internet at that time, was broadcast through all media channels, and used as an icon from the Iranian opposition to document the killings of the government. The word Neda also means voice in English. In this case, by juxtaposing the events of 2009 with the Karbala Battle and by calling a depiction of the Green Movement uprising The Voice of Ashura, it can be said that the creator of this video attempted to reclaim the religious doctrine of Ashura for his own political movement. In the end, the anonymous creator dedicates the video to the protestors of the Green Movement. He writes: “Dedicated to all who search the path of the Truth (meaning both God and ‘right’ or ‘correct’) and the truth”.
The city of Yazd in Iran is considered to be highly conservative and religious. It is also well known for its ability to organize large and complex Ashura Mourning ceremonies every year. In order to understand the most traditional forms of Ashura Ceremonies one must travel to Yazd. The local state television networks broadcast the events taking place in the Heyats of Yazd. This year, the Heyat of Ba’as was the center of attention during the aftermath of the Ashura period. A short clip captured from the local television network documenting part of the Ba’as Heyat Ashura Ceremony went viral in social networks amongst Iranians sympathizing with the Green Movement. In this video, the Maddah was singing very critical lyrics during the chest beating ceremony while metaphorically referencing the status of the Muslim World in and around 680 CE. In reading the lyrics closer, one can be sure that these lines are targeting the repressive conditions that lay over contemporary Iran:
They say you should sing of flower’s / They say this is the verdict of the king …
This is the city of the deaths / New ways of singing are forbidden …
You the city of un-excitement / Where is your belief of the past? …
On one side the wounded star / On the other the bird in a grave …
God forbids destruction / Until when shall we remain at night in the darkness? …
I am Hussain, on the way to the truth; the sunset of Ashura is the rise of awakening; come back …
The flag of the enemy became visible, come back if you have dignity
He wears the cloths of cruelty instead of justice
He wars the cloths of the religious and believer …
A castle wall to wall with religion is still a sin …
Believe me, everyone believes only in love …
There were rumors that the chest-beating event at the Ba’as Heyat was removed from live television broadcast.
The Ouroboros cause and effect
The word Ouroboros15 describes the image of a snake or a dragon eating its own tail. It is a symbol of self-reflexivity, a critical point of departure towards the ego that results in a new era. In essence, cleaning the self from the past. Within the context of Iran, I see this as positive progress that requires a great deal of struggle. A non-violent, but cultural and educational fight.
The constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran was opportunistically improvised in practice after the 1979 Iranian Revolution and is strongly based on the Shia crusade. It defines a Shia Supreme Leadership as its head of state, which is contradictory to the majority of the spirit. I am not a theologian, nor a political scientist. Therefore, I can only argue through the forms and discourses I am more connected to: the aesthetics, media and popular culture as intended in this text.
While the Iranian government censors and violently suppresses any attempt at independent reporting about military and governmental crimes a Shia-traditional duty can be observed, named, and argued in the existence of the Iranian citizen reporters. The very same religious duties that were taught and propagated by the ruling system are being suppressed through their actions. In this case, the Iranian Government contradicts its own doctrines and its own Shia-based teachings through which they are founded with their actions and criminal behavior towards messaging, reporting and disclosing truth and towards free and critical speech.
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1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sattar_Beheshti
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shia_Islam
3. Explaining why Shia is traditionally a sect in minority…
4. On the oppositional characteristic of Shia I would recommend the book “Shi’ism – A Religion of Protest” by Hamid Dabashi, Harward University Press, 2010 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaVKZLn9A6A)
5. “History – 2nd grade, Middle School”, Lesson 5 “The Caliphate of the Umayyad”, P.24, Education Ministry of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 2010
& “History of Iran & the World – 2nd grade, High School”, Lesson 13 “The Caliphate of the Umayyad”, P.116-118, Education Ministry of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 2011
6. “Imam Hussian is the symbol of courage and devotion, he is the master of all martyr’s. That saint (Imam Hussian) has taught us freedom and courage, he has kept Islam alive through the forbearance of suffering and the sacrifice of his blood.”
From “History – 2nd grade, Middle School”, Lesson 5 “The Caliphate of the Umayyad”, P.26, Education Ministry of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 2010
7. ‘amre be maroof va nahye az monkar’ is an Islamic teaching interpreted out of the Qoran which rules a Muslim to ‘discussion and consultation in order to obtain a better understanding of justice: Religiously speaking, it is obligatory for Muslims to spread their knowledge of rightness and wrongness in the society, and to talk and consult about it.’ (http://blog.tag-legal.com/?p=268)
8. “Social Science – Part Three: History – 5th grade, Elementary School”, Lesson 6 “The Caliphate of Imam Hassan and the Uprising of Imam Hussain”, P. 95, Education Ministry of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 2010
9. “History of Iran & the World – 2nd grade, High School”, Lesson 13 “The Caliphate of the Umayyad”, P.116, Education Ministry of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 2011
10. “Siant Zainab: her character and her influence on the Karbala Doctrine”, Khadem Hossein Fazeli, Imam Khomeini Institute for Education and Research (online) (http://marifat.nashriyat.ir/node/311)
11 & 12. “Despite all the tragedy … Saint Zainab spoke loudly about the message of Hussain’s doctrine, the end of oppression and the duty of all Muslims with a honorable manner throughout the road of Sham and Kufah. She prevented the truth of the religious and historical epic of Karbala to be ever forgotten.” From “History of Iran & the World – 2nd grade, High School”, Lesson 13 “The Caliphate of the Umayyad”, P.119, Education Ministry of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 2011
13. “Her (Zainab) speeches and groans made everyone, despite of friendship or enemy to react with sadness. Actually another revolution was supposed to emerge from this moment.” From “Saint Zainab: her character and her influence on the Karbala Doctrine”, Khadem Hossein Fazeli, Imam Khomeini Institute for Education and Research (online) (http://marifat.nashriyat.ir/node/311)
14. “Saint Zainab: her character and her influence on the Karbala Doctrine”, Khadem Hossein Fazeli, Imam Khomeini Institute for Education and Research (online)
