Digital Technology and Pilgrimage: Shiʿi Rituals of Arbaʿin in Iraq
Since the collapse of the Baʿathist regime after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, Shiʿi Muslim rituals, in particular the annual commemorations of Arbaʿin, have seen a revival in popularity. Based on two fieldwork studies conducted during Arbaʿin in 2016 and 2017, the present study attempts to...
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| Contributors: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
2020
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| In: |
Journal of religion, media and digital culture
Year: 2020, Volume: 9, Issue: 1, Pages: 82-106 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Iraq
/ Shi'ah
/ Karbalā'
/ al-Arbaʿīn
/ Pilgrimage
/ Ritual
/ New media
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| IxTheo Classification: | AG Religious life; material religion BJ Islam KBL Near East and North Africa ZG Media studies; Digital media; Communication studies |
| Further subjects: | B
Space
B Husayn B Pilgrimage B Shiʿi Islam B Ritual B Iraq B Arbaʿin B Performance |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Since the collapse of the Baʿathist regime after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, Shiʿi Muslim rituals, in particular the annual commemorations of Arbaʿin, have seen a revival in popularity. Based on two fieldwork studies conducted during Arbaʿin in 2016 and 2017, the present study attempts to examine the changing characteristics of the rituals. It does so by studying the increasing digitization of Arbaʿin as a commemorative pilgrimage to Karbala, Iraq, to the shrine of the Prophet’s grandson, Imam Husayn. This ethnographic study argues for a mediated conception of Arbaʿin pilgrimage in that digital technologies serve as an embodied site of interaction in shaping shared experiences based on networked sociability. Examining the intimate connections between “physical” and “virtual” spaces, as in the case of Mawakib or gatherings shaped in the form of temporary lodgings in the course of walking processions, the study argues that various uses of digital technologies for pilgrimage are less about means of devotional expression than a series of experiences of digital significance. The paper makes the final argument that the digital practices embedded in ritual processions are acted upon to enhance experience, which increasingly fuses technology with ritual action. |
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| ISSN: | 2165-9214 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of religion, media and digital culture
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/21659214-bja10006 |