Abstract
Thus far the master narratives we have explored lack any distinctive Islamic sectarian character, even though the extremists we have focused on so far come mostly from within the Sunni branch of Islam (broadly speaking). The Battle of Karbala, however, is a distinctly Shi‘ite master narrative. It forms the basis for a decidedly sectarian and dualistic worldview upon which other Shi‘ite narratives and master narratives are founded (e.g., al-Mahdi). It is also arguably the most vivid and powerful of all the master narratives examined in this book, one that has been expressed continuously over the centuries through elaborate rituals, art, poetry, and dramas. It has also been convincingly argued that the Battle of Karbala master narrative forms the basis for modern Iranian nationalism.1
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Notes
See Kamran Scot Aghaie, The Martyrs of Karbala: Shi’i Symbols and Rituals in Modern Iran (Seattle: University of Washington, 2004).
Willard G. Oxtoby, “The Christian Tradition,” in World Religions: Western Religions, ed. Willard G. Oxtoby (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002), 215.
Willard G. Oxtoby, “The Christian Tradition,” in World Religions: Western Religions, ed. Willard G. Oxtoby (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002), 215.
Stephen L. Harris, Understanding the Bible: Fifth Edition (Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing, 2000), 419–420.
Mahmoud Ayoub, Redemptive Suffering in Islam (New York: Mouton Publishers, 1978), 96.
John J. Donohue and John L. Esposito, eds. Islam in Transition: Muslim Perspectives (New York: Oxford University Press, 1982), 315.
Ruhullah Khomeini quoted in John L. Esposito, Voices of Resurgent Islam (New York: Oxford University Press, 1983), 154–155.
Maziar Bahari, “Iran’s President Bush,” Newsweek (June 3, 2009); Retrieved from http://www.newsweek.com/id/200236.
Maziar Bahari, “Iran’s President Bush,” Newsweek (June 3, 2009); Retrieved from http://www.newsweek.com/id/200236.
Kevin Sim, Pilgrimage to Karbala: Iran, Iraq, and Shia Islam, PBS Video (2007).
Gilles Kepel, Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam, trans. Anthony F. Roberts (New York: I. B. Tauris, 2003), 87.
Amal Saad-Ghorayeb, Hizbullah: Politics and Religion (London: Pluto Press, 2002), 131
Amal Saad-Ghorayeb, Hizbullah: Politics and Religion (London: Pluto Press, 2002), 131; Hala Jaber, Hezbollah: Born with a Vengeance (New York: Columbia University Press, 1997), 75.
Deborah J. Gerner, One Land, Two Peoples (Oxford: Westview, 1994), 124–125.
Deborah J. Gerner, One Land, Two Peoples (Oxford: Westview, 1994), 127.
Joyce M. Davis, Martyrs (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003), 46.
Valerie Saturen, “Divine Suffering in Shiism: Origins and Political Implications,” Iran Analysis Quarterly, Vol. 2, No. 4 (July–September 2005), 38.
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© 2011 Jeffry R. Halverson, H. L. Goodall Jr., and Steven R. Corman
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Halverson, J.R., Goodall, H.L., Corman, S.R. (2011). The Battle of Karbala. In: Master Narratives of Islamist Extremism. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-230-11723-5_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-230-11723-5_8
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