Superstition as Ideology in Iranian Politics: From Majlesi to Ahmadinejad

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A superstitious reading of the world based on religion may be harmless at a private level, yet employed as a political tool it can have more sinister implications. As this fascinating book by Ali Rahnema, a distinguished Iranian intellectual, relates, superstition and mystical beliefs have endured and influenced ideology and political strategy in Iran from the founding of the Safavid dynasty in the sixteenth century to the present day. The endurance of these beliefs has its roots in a particular brand of popular Shiism, which was compiled and systematized by the eminent cleric Mohammad Baqer Majlesi in the seventeenth century. Majlesi, who is considered by some to be the father of Iranian Shiism, encouraged believers to accept fantastical notions as part of their faith and to venerate their leaders as superhuman. As Rahnema demonstrates through a close reading of the Persian sources and with examples from contemporary Iranian politics, it is this supposed connectedness to the hidden world that has allowed leaders such as Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlavi and Mahmud Ahmadinejad to present themselves and their entourage as representatives of the divine, and their rivals as the embodiment of evil. Cover Half-title Title Copyright Contents Preface and Acknowledgements Introduction Political islam Belief, religion, superstition and political superstition Legacy or ahistoricism The limitations of the supernatural political leader The green movement: transitioning from traditional to modern? Pitfalls Part One: Politicizing Occult Islam 1 Ahmadinejad: A Touch of Light A Holy Visitation in a Not-So-Holy City The Significance of Light in Shi'i Literature Ahmadinejad’s Messianic Occultism The Idyllic War Fronts A Contrived Repetition of the War Front Experiences Misappropriation of Ayatollah Behjat’s Spirituality Theorizing the Worldly Interventions of the Twelfth Imam The Mesbah Yazdi–Ahmadinejad Axis: politics and the hidden world The Unusual Consequences of a Phantasmical Social Atmosphere Commodification of the Faith: the phenomenon of the jamkaran mosques The Clerical Reaction to Messianic Occultism: shi'ism versus shi'ism A Second Round of Supernatural Claims The Hidden Imam Kidnapped by the Priniciplists The Hidden Imam: hostage to the principlists’ political ambitions Propagating Superstition: continuation or break with khomeyni’s political islam? 2 Mohammad-Reza Shah Pahlavi’s Supernatural Shi'ism and Its Political Implications The Divinely Graced Child Mohammad-Reza’s Connection with the Hidden World The Hidden World Intervenes in History on the Side of the Shah Mohammad-Reza: god’s instrument or not? Mohammad-Reza’s Divine Mission Challenged by Khomeyni’s Islam If the Shah is Divinely Supported, then Who is Supporting his Dissident Shi'i Subjects? 3 Shah Esma'il Safavi: The Quintessentially Occult Shi'i King The Extremist Lineage of Shah Esma'il Shah Esma'il is Supported by the Hidden World Imam 'Ali’s apparitions in dreams to further the cause of Shah Esma'il Imam 'Ali’s apparition in Esma'il’s dream to protect, heal and cure him Esma'il’s Correspondence with Imam 'Ali A Phantasmical Account of Esma'il’s Rite of Passage Crisis of Extremism: when the hidden world withdraws its support Part Two: Popular Shi'ism: Majlesism 4 Milieu, Childhood, Sanctity and Fame Mohammad-Baqer Majlesi’s Early Years Scholar and Teacher Majlesi’s Research Centre and its Products The Supernatural Profile of the Two Majlesis Mohammad-Baqer Majlesi’s Rising Fortunes 5 From Conceptualization to Officialization of a Religio-political Ideology The Religio-political Significance of Bahar al-Anvar: the pandora’s box Majlesi’s Popularization of Persian Shi'ism Majlesi and the Safavi Court: a symbiotic relationship Superstition as the Driving Force of an Ideology 6 Deficiency and Defectiveness of the Human Mind Background to the Debate on Reason Qur’an and Reason Constrained by Hadith: majlesi’s assessment of the qur’an Majlesi’s Refutation of Reason Interpretation is forbidden to all except Majlesi 7 Society Needs the Leadership of Jurists and/or Kings Contextualizing Majlesi’s position on religio-political leadership Leadership of the ‘OLAMA or the Islamic Jurists Leadership of Kings 8 Superstitious Education: Fogging Minds, Fostering Resignation Believers and Objects Believers and Human Activities Believers and Individuals of the Other World Believers and Dates: ominous and auspicious Believers and Prayers 9 Reconfigurating the Necessities of Belief: Articulating a State Religion Religious Recommendations or Obligations? The Origin, Sources and Purpose of Necessities The Religio-political Significance of Necessities: from the necessity to believe in imams to the necessity of believing in transmitters and compilers of their reports Expanding the Necessities of Shi'ism: a creed with a different emphasis The Specifics of Necessities 10 Majlesism as an Ideology The Politics of the Shi'i–Sunni Dichotomy Majlesi’s Legacy Conclusion Bibliography Works in Persian Works in European Languages Index