The Sacred Defense: Sacrifice and Nationalism Across Minority Communities in Post-Revolutionary Iran
This article argues against a universalist theory in which Shi'ism explains all Iranian sacrifices during the Iran-Iraq War. The article asserts four methodological reasons why the current focus on Shi'ism as the explanation for acts of martyrdom is insufficient. The Sacred Defense lit...
| Published in: | Journal of the American Academy of Religion |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
[2018]
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| In: |
Journal of the American Academy of Religion
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Gulf War (1980-1988)
/ Shi'ah
/ Martyr
/ Religion
/ Victim (Religion)
/ Narrative (Grammar)
/ Armenians
/ Christian
/ Sāzmān-i Čarīkhā-i Fidā'ī-i Ḫalq-i Īrān
/ Parsis
/ Nationalism
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| IxTheo Classification: | BJ Islam KBL Near East and North Africa |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | This article argues against a universalist theory in which Shi'ism explains all Iranian sacrifices during the Iran-Iraq War. The article asserts four methodological reasons why the current focus on Shi'ism as the explanation for acts of martyrdom is insufficient. The Sacred Defense literature of Christians, Zoroastrians, and the Fedayeen-e Khalq is examined to support the argument that nearly four decades of the Shah's rule and the battle over the future of the country engendered Iran as the sacred. Iranian minorities also participated in this internal battle. Unsurprisingly these same communities constituted the Iranian military forces at the start of the War. Yet, the reason why these diverse individuals and communities offered of and from themselves remains couched within the hegemonically unhelpful idioms related to Shi'as and Shi'ism and their alleged culture of martyrdom. This article demonstrates how the Islamic Republic perpetuates this image of its populace, Shias and non-Shias alike, as part of a larger monotheistic culture of sacrifice. In contrast, this article re-inserts these communities back into Iranian history in their own words to demonstrate that some individuals willingly offered their lives during the early stages of the Iran-Iraq War because of nationalism, not a religious culture of sacrifice. |
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| ISSN: | 1477-4585 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: American Academy of Religion, Journal of the American Academy of Religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/jaarel/lfx089 |