Mukhtār and the Mahdī: A Critical Inquiry into the Sources

Begreppet al-mahdī är grundläggande i shīʿitisk islam. Det betyder ordagrant “den rättledde”. I den shīʿitiska tolvsekten har ordet kommit att beteckna den dolde Imamen som en dag ska återkomma för att rädda sina anhängare och återställa rättvisa på jorden – en slags messiasgestalt. Det råder nära konsensus bland forskare som sysslar med tidig islam om att den som först använde ordet al-mahdī i dess eskatologiska betydelse var den shīʿitiske rebelledaren al-Mukhtār (d. 686), när han tillämpade det på Muḥammad b. al-Ḥanafiyya, en son till ʿAlī. I föreliggande studie ifrågasätter jag denna uppfattning, och argumenterar för att det visserligen kan beläggas att Mukhtār använde titeln al-mahdī för Ibn al-Ḥanafiyya, men inte att han använde den i en messiansk bemärkelse. Den betydelsen kan inte beläggas förrän strax efter hans död. Avslutningsvis gör jag gällande att denna fråga är metodologiskt snarare än historiskt viktig

En ny människa och en ny stat : Apokalyptiska föreställningar i Islamiska statens propaganda

Studien visar hur Islamiska statens (IS) propaganda under 2010-talets mitt var fylld av föreställningar om tidens slut. Ett av IS-kalifatets främsta syften var att bereda vägen för den yttersta tiden, och den enskilda människan uppmanades att välja vilken sida hon eller han ville stå på när Guds dom faller över världen. I artikeln lyfts IS tanke om den rättrogna muslimens främlingskap i världen fram: genom att ta ställning för det sanna islam och ”migrera” till kalifatet i både mental och fysisk mening, skulle främlingskapet upphävas och människans liv bli äkta

Three Times Karbalāʾ : Comparing Early Accounts of the Death of al-Ḥusayn

Karbala-berättelsen: från skärmytsling till kosmiskt sla

The Date of the Story of the Tawwābūn

The movement of the Tawwābūn (“Penitents”) emerged after the killing of Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī at Karbalāʾ in 61/680. Although several scholars have held that the story of the Tawwābūn is indeed old, it has been little studied. In this article an analysis is made of a central section of the story: the account about the Tawwābūn’s visit at Ḥusayn’s grave. The three versions of this account is analysed by means of tradition- and content critical methods. It is concluded that behind the three versions lie two earlier reports that date back at least to the end of the 1st century AH/the beginning of the 8th century CE. This story is, hence, of importance for the study of the early development of Shīʿite ideas and rituals.Hämnd eller martyrium! Berättelsen om Botgörarna som en länk till Shi`ismens tidiga utveckling

Myth, ritual, and the early development of Shiite identity

The developing myth about the events at Karbala, as well as the image of al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī and the cult connected with him, were important factors in the shaping of early Shiite identity. In this article, I argue that some of the earliest traces of this process are found in the account of the Tawwābūn, or Penitents, events which took place in the years immediately following the death of al-Ḥusayn at Karbala in 60 AH/680 CE. Important elements of this story originate at least as early as the late first century AH/early eighth century CE. In the story we see the image of al-Ḥusayn in process of transformation from that of someone merely human to someone ascribed traits that transcend the human. In the same process, the story of his death at Karbala is in process of being elevated from a tragic story to a myth with its associated rituals.Open Access APC beslut 4/2018Hämnd eller martyrium! Berättelsen om Botgörarna som en länk till Shi`ismens tidiga utveckling

Closed and open concepts of religion : The problem of essentialism in teaching about religion

Essentialist concepts of religion are common in the teaching of religion in schools and to a certain extent also in the academic discipline of religious studies. In this article, a number of problems with essentialist perceptions of religion are discussed. In the first part of the article a thesis is maintained, according to which essentialist conceptions of religion or specific religions are too limited to be of value in the teaching of religion. This is done through examples of essentialist expressions on religion. The examples are grouped according to a typology of different kinds of essentialism. Two main categories, each with two sub-categories are identified. Thus, the category of essentialism regarding the substance of religion is divided into transcendental or theological essentialism (which presupposes the existence of a sacred power of some kind, the experience of which is the basis for religion), and core essentialism (where it is presupposed that certain ideas or concepts constitute religion as a general category or specific religions). Likewise, the category of essentialism regarding the function of religion has two sub-categories: positive and negative essentialism. These kinds of essentialism presuppose that religion or specific religions are inherently good or harmful respectively to human be-ings. Examples from each of these categories are given and discussed. In the second part of the article, Benson Saler’s open concept of religion is presented as an alternative to essentialist or bounded perceptions. It is based on Ludwig Wittgenstein’s idea of family resemblances and on prototype theory. In connection with this, it is argued that a certain kind of conscious ethnocentrism is needed as a point of departure in the study and teaching of religion. The metaphor of education as a journey from the familiar out into the unfamiliar and back again is suggested as a possible pattern for such teaching.Essentialism i religionsundervisninge

Al-Mukhtār and the Aesthetics of Persuasion

The first Shiʿi leader with true political power – although it was limited in space and time – after the death of ʿAli b. Abī Ṭālib was al-Mukhtār b. Abī ʿUbayd (d. 67/687). In this paper, I will argue that one reason why he succeeded in his political ambitions was that he legitimized his endeavor by deferring to ʿAli. In doing this he set a precedent for all future Shiʿi leadership. Al-Mukhtār gained authority by convincing his followers about his function as mediator between the people and the deceased ʿAli, who was still supposed to be alive and active in one way or another by many Shiʿis. As a tool of analysis I use the notion of religious aesthetics as it has been developed by Birgit Meyer and others. Meyer regards religion as a practice of mediation between the temporal and the perceived transcendental worlds, a mediation that is performed by appealing to all human senses through various media. The person in control of these media has the power to distribute and withhold religious sensations generated in the devotees; what Meyer calls “the aesthetics of persuasion”. In the paper, I will investigate three instruments of mediation used by al-Mukhtār: a living human being, a religio-political action, and an artefact. The first is his claim to act on behalf of ʿAli’s son Ibn al-Ḥanafiyya, whom he called al-mahdī, “the rightly guided”; the second, his call to revenge for ʿAli’s son al-Ḥusayn; and the third, his claim that he was in possession of an ʿAlid relic, a chair that had belonged to ʿAli. I will briefly argue that the accounts of these three instruments most probably reflect a historical reality. Of these three, in particular the designation of a mahdī was a feature that became influential in shaping Shiʿite patterns of authority in the centuries to follow.Nutida shiitiska auktoritetsförhandlinga

Mukhtār and the Mahdī : a critical inquiry into the sources

The concept of al-mahdī is one of the most important theological ideas in Shiʿism. Its literary meaning is ‘the rightly guided’, and this is how it was probably used in the first decades after the Prophet Muhammad. In Twelver Shiʿism it has come to denote the hidden Imam, who will one day return to redeem his followers and restore justice on earth, and in that sense it is akin to the Christian idea of the Messiah. Among scholars of early Islam there is near consensus on the view that the transition of meaning, from its literal meaning ‘the rightly guided’ to an eschatological redeemer, occurred with the Shiʿite rebel leader al-Mukhtār b. Abī ʿUbayd (d. 686) when he applied it to Muhammad b. al-Hanafiyya, the son of ʿAlī. In the present study I will contest that view. I will hold that, while it can be established from the sources that Mukhtār probably spoke of Ibn al-Hanafiyya as al-mahdī, they do not support his use of this title in a messianic sense. This eschatological meaning can only be verified soon after his death.Begreppet al-mahdī är ett av de grundläggande teologiska begreppen i shiʿitisk islam. Det betyder ordagrant ’den rättledde’, och det var troligen så ordet användes under de första årtiondena efter Muhammads död. I den shiʿitiska tolvsekten har ordet kommit att beteckna den dolde Imamen som en dag ska återkomma för att rädda sina anhängare och återställa rättvisa på jorden – en slags messiasgestalt. Det råder nära nog konsensus bland de forskare som sysslar med tidig islam om att den som först använde ordet al-mahdī i dess eskatologiska betydelse var den shiʿitiske rebelledaren al-Mukhtār b. Abī ʿUbayd (d. 686), när han tillämpade det på Muhammad b. al-Hanafiyya, en son till ʿAlī. I denna studie ifrågasätter jag denna uppfattning, och argumenterar för att det visserligen kan beläggas att Mukhtār använde titeln al-mahdī för Ibn al-Hanafiyya, men inte att han använde den i en messiansk bemärkelse. Den betydelsen kan inte beläggas förrän strax efter hans död.Nutida shiitiska auktoritetsförhandlingarHämnd eller martyrium! Berättelsen om Botgörarna som en länk till Shi`ismens tidiga utveckling

The Date of the Story of the Tawwābūn

The movement of the Tawwābūn (“Penitents”) emerged after the killing of Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī at Karbalāʾ in 61/680. Although several scholars have held that the story of the Tawwābūn is indeed old, it has been little studied. In this article an analysis is made of a central section of the story: the account about the Tawwābūn’s visit at Ḥusayn’s grave. The three versions of this account is analysed by means of tradition- and content critical methods. It is concluded that behind the three versions lie two earlier reports that date back at least to the end of the 1st century AH/the beginning of the 8th century CE. This story is, hence, of importance for the study of the early development of Shīʿite ideas and rituals.Hämnd eller martyrium! Berättelsen om Botgörarna som en länk till Shi`ismens tidiga utveckling

Mukhtār and the Mahdī : a critical inquiry into the sources

The concept of al-mahdī is one of the most important theological ideas in Shiʿism. Its literary meaning is ‘the rightly guided’, and this is how it was probably used in the first decades after the Prophet Muhammad. In Twelver Shiʿism it has come to denote the hidden Imam, who will one day return to redeem his followers and restore justice on earth, and in that sense it is akin to the Christian idea of the Messiah. Among scholars of early Islam there is near consensus on the view that the transition of meaning, from its literal meaning ‘the rightly guided’ to an eschatological redeemer, occurred with the Shiʿite rebel leader al-Mukhtār b. Abī ʿUbayd (d. 686) when he applied it to Muhammad b. al-Hanafiyya, the son of ʿAlī. In the present study I will contest that view. I will hold that, while it can be established from the sources that Mukhtār probably spoke of Ibn al-Hanafiyya as al-mahdī, they do not support his use of this title in a messianic sense. This eschatological meaning can only be verified soon after his death.Begreppet al-mahdī är ett av de grundläggande teologiska begreppen i shiʿitisk islam. Det betyder ordagrant ’den rättledde’, och det var troligen så ordet användes under de första årtiondena efter Muhammads död. I den shiʿitiska tolvsekten har ordet kommit att beteckna den dolde Imamen som en dag ska återkomma för att rädda sina anhängare och återställa rättvisa på jorden – en slags messiasgestalt. Det råder nära nog konsensus bland de forskare som sysslar med tidig islam om att den som först använde ordet al-mahdī i dess eskatologiska betydelse var den shiʿitiske rebelledaren al-Mukhtār b. Abī ʿUbayd (d. 686), när han tillämpade det på Muhammad b. al-Hanafiyya, en son till ʿAlī. I denna studie ifrågasätter jag denna uppfattning, och argumenterar för att det visserligen kan beläggas att Mukhtār använde titeln al-mahdī för Ibn al-Hanafiyya, men inte att han använde den i en messiansk bemärkelse. Den betydelsen kan inte beläggas förrän strax efter hans död.Nutida shiitiska auktoritetsförhandlingarHämnd eller martyrium! Berättelsen om Botgörarna som en länk till Shi`ismens tidiga utveckling