Messages of “Arba'een Walking” as “Media”: Difference between revisions

The title is a research paper by  Zahed Ghaffari Hashjin<ref>Associate Professor, Department of Political Sciences, Shahed University, Iran, Email: z_ghafari@yahoo.Com</ref> and Mohsen Mohammadi Khanghahi<ref>PhD Candidate of Political Studies of Islamic Revolution, Shahed University, Iran, mohamadihi@gmail.com2</ref> published in “International Journal of Multicultural and Multireligious Understanding”, Vol. 6, No. 6, December 2019. The following is the full article.<ref>https://ijmmu.com/index.php/ijmmu/article/view/1456/1145</ref>

Religious rituals and practices have meanings and values among Shia and therefore enjoy a unique position. Symbols and rituals of Ashura like a pilgrimage of Arba'een, due to the intertwined and historical relation between Imam Hussein (AS) movement and identity of Shia plays a special role in the process of acquiring the identity of Shiite followers as a minority in the great Islamic community. A minority that in different eras historically suffered from being marginalized. Restoring rituals to a very sacred, legitimate and pure source (Imam), signifies importance and main status of these rituals among the Shiite elites. (Giviyan & Amin: 1396: 168).

Studying the slogans of Arba’een Walkings also shows freedom, dignity, their spirit in fighting arrogance and their hatred of oppression which are tied with the nature of Arba'een Walk. In fact, similar to the uprising and movement of Imam Hussein (AS) which was for freedom and the rejection of tyranny, this walk is also to protect this uprising and movement and as we have said, the examination of the literature and slogans of Arba'een pilgrims is also evidence of this claim. Arba'een pilgrims by resorting to their Imam's uprising against cruelty of the time, i.e. the rule of Umayyad and Yazid, announced their solidarity with this basic principle in all eras. That is to say, with the revival and observance of the uprising and his martyred Imam's movement in a bed called Arba'een, they emphasize on rejecting tyranny as a social behavior role model in the present time. On this basis, it can be said that fighting arrogance and having love for freedom are the significant and permanent messages of Arba'een Walk.

The presence of Sunnis alongside the Shiites in Arba'een reinforces unity-oriented approach and broadcasts  the  message  of  "Shiite  and  Sunni  closeness"  worldwide  Islam  world.  Repeated annual presence of  Sunnis and  Shiites in a  context titled  Arba'een can even have a  significant impact on neutralization of extensive psycho-media programs and activities produced by the  West and some regional dogmatic countries who are seeking to create and intensify Shiite and Sunni divisions and divergences. In this regard, it should be noted that the walk and pilgrimage of Arba'een bring about grounds and opportunities for promoting and highlighting this attitude of unity of Shia and Sunnis among the public opinion of the Islamic world.

Of course, one of the most obvious and primitive messages of Arba’een Walking is to have empathy and expresses affection for Ahlul-Bayt. On the other hand, the pervasive presence in Arba'een means believing in the discipline and thought of the Ahlul-Bayt (AS) as a source of guidance for the Ummah. In fact, the constant and widespread presence of the devotees to Imam Hussein (AS) in the Walk highlights and conveys the meaning that thought of the Ahlul-Bayt (AS) and their love in the Islamic world and beyond is alive and active and has the ability to move people.

4.  Strengthening and spreading the culture of sacrifice and martyrdom

During  the  history,  Shiites  have  always  emphasized  on  the  culture  of  self-sacrifice  and martyrdom to  confront  oppression and  to advance religious  and  social  goals by resorting to  Imam Hussein's movement and uprising against cruelty and tried to keep this culture alive. Indeed, the culture of self-sacrifice and martyrdom is a central element of the Shiite school. The central purpose of the sacrifice and martyrdom, too, is to liberate mankind from the bondage of the gods of wealth and weapon (Makoee & 'Abbasi, 1390: 177).

Arba’een Walking and commemoration of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein and his companions in Karbala at first glance, is commemoration of sacrifice on the path of God. Arba’een Walking causes annual and continuous commemoration of sacrifice and martyrdom of Imam and his companions on the path of God. And this honors and promotes culture of self-sacrifice and martyrdom in the community and among his followers. In fact, this walk, psychologically and ideologically, causes increasing the readiness of Imam Hussein's followers to sacrifice on the path of God. In other words, the widespread presence of people in Arba'een means approval and the emphasis on the path of self-sacrifice and martyrdom for the advancement and victory of the Right, and this subject in the long-term fosters internalizes and transfers the culture of self-sacrifice and martyrdom in the community and in particular, will be passed on to future generations. It must be said that the protection of the movement of Imam and his companions in Karbala endorses and highlights martyrdom and sacrifice as a role model beyond time and places that can, under certain circumstances, be the basis for the individual and collective action of a Muslim to advance and defend the Right.

Rothenbuhler believes that religion is not merely a form or process of thought, but a form of action (Baqeri et al., 1395: 105). Accordingly, anyone who practices a ritual acknowledges that his behaviour is symbolic, effective, and meaningful. In other words, as mentioned earlier based on Rothenbuhler's definition, ritual is to practice behaviour that becomes a role model voluntarily in the proper way to symbolically influence or participate in serious life (Mir-Abedini, 1388: 30). According to Kuhn, what is symbolically reproduced in the religious community involves the embodiment of the meanings made by individuals from the totality of their social life, as well as their symbolic borderline from other communities (Giviyan & Amin, 1396: 170).

Emotional concept and correlation of rituals are of the key concepts of Durkheim's social theory which has an effective function in maintaining social order and as a deterrent to restlessness. According to Durkheim, the four main functions of religion, namely: cohesion, discipline, vitality, and happiness, as important social forces, play a key and essential role in maintaining social discipline. In this regard, he argues, religious rituals prepare and train individuals for social life by imposing self-discipline and self-restraint. Religious rituals and practices bring people together and thereby re-affirm their shared relationships and bonds, and therefore reinforce social cohesion and solidarity.

The presence of people of different Islamic and non-Islamic countries in Arba’een Walking is a rare or even unique phenomenon, and at no other gathering or ceremony, this huge number of people with different religions, opinions and geographies can be seen. As noted earlier, there are hundreds of millions of people from 80 countries participating in this massive march (Ghandi & Shakori, 1395: 112).

In Arba’een Walking, there is a certain empathy and unity, and no distinction is seen among Arba'een pilgrims. Because in the spiritual and holy atmosphere of Arba'een, all attendees pursue a common goal, regardless of their status, position, class, and so on, and, in the opposite, they seek superiority and advantage in humbleness. Basically, the intimacy with and joining to the goal which is Imam Hussein (AS) is in harmony and solidarity with his other enthusiasts. Therefore, the atmosphere dominated pilgrims and enthusiasts of  Arba'een is a  space of solidarity and trans-group and class solidarity and this phenomenon has a serious presence in Arba’een Walking in a way that every listener and viewer of this event the message of unity and empathy surrounding the walk of Arba'een is clearly visible and tangible. In fact, the atmosphere of intimacy, empathy, and unity is of the most prominent features of Arba'een.

Individuals in a community by communicating with each other and keeping this communication can make it possible to work together, and through these connections, they can achieve things that are not possible to be achieved on their own. In fact, people are interconnected through a network and tend to share their values with other members of the network (Ghafari, 1385: 77). It can be said that social capital consists of components such as trust, common norms and social networks. Trust is one of the most important aspects of social relations and it is the basis for cooperation and collaboration among members of a society in different cultural, political and other fields (Zein-Abadi & Salehi, 1387: 10). In fact, social capital forms only when human beings are face to face in a specific social space (virtual or real) and secondly, a relationship is formed among them. So social capital is part of the social relationship and in its essence (Ejtehadi, 1386: 5). It must be said that the inclusive presence of Shiites and other religions in the Arba’een Walking puts forth the perfect manifestation of social capital as it both expresses common norms and represents a coherent and continuous social network. On the other hand, the ritual of Arba’een Walking itself reinforces component of social capital such as social networking, social norms, and so on. In fact, Arba'een Walk, while endorsing and consolidating common norms, generates and reinforces multimillion networks on a large scale and demonstrates its unquestioned ability in making networks to the world.

Intercultural communication involves the actual interaction of human beings from different cultures.  Accordingly,  this  form  of  communication  can  be  defined  as  the  process  of  exchange  of meanings, ideas, and cultural goods among individuals of different cultures (Arzani & Ehtemam, 1394:

The purpose of this article was to identify Arba'een messages as media and answer questions about its social, cultural and political messages as media. According to the findings of the article, Shiites' rituals and practices are rich in meaning and have a prominent status. Ashura symbols and rituals, such as the Arba’een Walking and pilgrimage, have a fundamental role and impact on giving meaning to the Shiites' lives and their identities. Arba’een Walking with its long and checkered history, has received a great deal of attention and participation in recent years. The presence of about 20 million people in this religious ritual from around the world has made it the most unique and important human assembly and has produced important messages and meanings.  The transmission of these religious messages has affected elites and world public opinion.

The findings of this study, in response to the triple questions, show that Arba’een Walking in the political dimension has created messages such as "unity of the Islamic Ummah", "fighting arrogance and authority". Also, this walk in the cultural dimension has shaped the meanings and messages such as: "Strengthening thought  and  unifying attitude",  "Promoting culture  of  self-sacrifice  and  martyrdom", "Deep connection with Hussein's values" and.... On the other hand, the Arba'een assembly in the social sphere also produces messages such as "order and solidarity", "transcultural and group solidarity and unity", "intercultural communication". Understanding the messages and meanings arising from the Arba’een Walking can help policymakers and media aligned with the Arba'een develop and reinforce these meanings and messages. Given the multiplicity of meanings and messages of Arba'een walk, it seems that more and specified specialized researches are needed to gain a deeper understanding of Arba'een's political, cultural and social messages in order to focus more on each of them, therefore these meanings and messages can be scrutinized in details.

 

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