‘Mourning is Beautiful: Ta’ziyeh and Gender Affirmation in South Iran’, Komunikacija i kultura online, Godina VI, broj 6, 2015.

Anna Vanzan
School of Linguistic and Cultural Mediation Sciences,
University of Milan
Italy

Iranian women’s presence in Shi’i rituals was noted by travellers in pre-modern era and extensively described since the 19th century. After the Islamic Revolution, whose success was partially decided by Shi’i myths and symbols and by women’s contributions, the attention towards gender aspects of Shi’i religious ceremonies increased, and now it is discussed in numerous recent works. So far, scholars have mainly observed and described the rituals performed in the capital Tehran, with the exception of Ingvild Flaskerud whose target of research is the female community of Shiraz. However, it is South Iran that presents striking peculiarities in the way women participate in Muharram ceremonies. This paper is based on ethnographic research carried out among women performers in Muharram rituals in South Iran, in particular in the Gulf area; it shows how women, by claiming their right to perform in a public arena, are also asking to be recognized as social, cultural, historical and religious agents.

Key words: Muharram rituals and Gender; Shi’i women in South Iran; women actors in
ta’ziyeh.

For a copy of the article, contact the author: annavanzan@hotmail.com

Cable: 08RIYADH1283_a

[The mainstream Western media and Academy has been disputing the nature of Sheikh Nimr’s discourse. In that regard, this Wikileaks document makes interesting reading. For some background on Wikileaks itself, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WikiLeaks. Ed.]

Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr: Anger at execution of top Shia cleric – BBC News

See also: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/02/suadi-arabia-cleric-execution-unrest-predicted-shia-areas?utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GU+Today+main+NEW+H&utm_term=147332&subid=7639334&CMP=EMCNEWEML6619I2
Protests in Srinagar: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-35216657

Saudi Arabia executes top Shia cleric – BBC News

See also: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/h/ben_hubbard/index.html
and http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/01/02/world/middleeast/ap-ml-saudi-arabia-the-latest.html

Shah Abbas | Oneworld

Bahrain Revokes Citizenships of Persian Descendants

The University of Religions and Denominations (Qom, Iran) will hold the second 12-Day course on Shia Studies in March 2016. This course entails an introduction to Shia History, Principles, Futurology, Rituals and Practices in contemporary world. The focus will be on the Twelver Shia, the numerically largest and most influential denomination in Shiism; however, participants in this course will also learn about other main Shia traditions. All university professors, lecturers, researchers, and Ph.D. students in related fields are invited to apply. More information about this course is available at

http://shiacourse.urd.ac.ir
Or http://urd.ac.ir/en/index

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Yours sincerely
Ahmad Moghri
Program Coordinator,
University of Religions and Denominations (Qom, Iran)
shiacourse@urd.ac.ir

Consejo Ibero-Safavid de Estudios Históricos. International Conference. MISSIONARIES IN THE SAFAVID WORLD

Analysis indicates Shia populations are being underreported