Babism (this week's writing sample)
Jan. 7th, 2007 12:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
winterbadger(Not that I imagine anyone is terribly interested, but, as an antidote to sleeplessness... :-)
What best explains the rise (and virtual disappearance) of the Babi movement in the 19th Century?
Babism, an offshoot of Shaykhism, built on the mystical and spiritually based beliefs of that school of Shi'a Islam by invoking the title of Bab, or "gate", first used by four leaders in 9th and 10th century Shi'a Islam. These leaders claimed to be the agents in the material world of the Hidden (Twelfth) Imam, able to communicate with him, convey messages and questions, and return replies. In 1844, Sayyid Ali Muhammad al-Shirazi claimed to be a new bab or agent of the Hidden Imam; his followers became known as Babis. Later, in 1848, he claimed that he was in fact the Hidden Imam, returned as the Mahdi to replace the Qur'an and Shari'a with a new prophetic teaching.
Neither Momen nor many other sources (listed below) give a clear idea why Babism became popular. The most light is shed by an unsourced article on the Wikipedia-like website Everything2, which suggests that Babism gained many adherents because it initially preserved and endorsed many traditional Shi'a teachings and enhanced them with a new claim to divine authority. Combine that with the information in a New Catholic Dictionary article that Babism enjoined a number of austerities that might have popularly been seen as having become neglected (effectively a 'return to traditional values') and the mention Momen makes of a sort of Millenialism associated with 1844 being the 1000th year since the occlusion of the 12th Imam, and one forms an impression of a group perhaps similar to some 'End Times' groups in the modern Christian world, blaming the ills of the world (political, economic) on believers' falling away from their faith and urging them to reform. With the subsequent claim by Sayyid Ali that he was not only the Bab but in fact the Twelfth Imam returned from occlusion, the Mahdi himself, this impression of 'a saviour for our sinful world' is reinforced.
Both Momen and the other sources cited leave no doubt as to the reasons for the downfall of the movement. Babis, always somewhat inclined to an aggressive self-defense, became more radical and more violent with the imprisonment of their leader, his call for a jihad to convert the unbelievers, and then his execution (in 1850). Forces like these, critical of both the government and the ulama of the day (seen by many as having become corrupt) and challenging the very cornerstone of religious orthodoxy were certainly revolutionary and bound to be the target of unrelenting civil and religious persecution. The flames of antagonism between the ulama and the Babis were doubtless stoked by the underlying philosophy of Shaykhism, from which Babism had come, which rejected a great deal of the ulama's rationalism and legalism, relying instead on intuitive insight and belief. Shaykhism has also denied the possibility of a direct experience of God, instead relaying on various human intermediaries between God and humanity, thus moving further from orthodox Islamic belief.
Momen also makes the case that in Shi'a polities, especially that of Iran (where Shi'a, once the minority, had become the dominant sect), the search for scapegoats is constant and that the instinctive persecution complex of the traditionally preyed-upon Shi'i is prone to see guilt for the woes of the present day (whatever they may be) in any who disagree with the ulama, especially religious or ethnic minorities (a fate that still burdens Baha'i, an offshoot of the Babis that has effectively become a new religion).
text: Momen, Moojan. (1985). An Introduction to Shi'i Islam. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Web articles on Babism
Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A1b%C3%ADs]
Encyclopedia of the Orient [http://lexicorient.com/e.o/babism.htm]
Brittanica Concise and Columbia Encyclopedias [http://www.answers.com/topic/babism]
New Catholic Dictionary [http://www.catholic-forum.com/SAINTS/ncd00948.htm]
Everything 2 article [http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=191294]
What best explains the rise (and virtual disappearance) of the Babi movement in the 19th Century?
Babism, an offshoot of Shaykhism, built on the mystical and spiritually based beliefs of that school of Shi'a Islam by invoking the title of Bab, or "gate", first used by four leaders in 9th and 10th century Shi'a Islam. These leaders claimed to be the agents in the material world of the Hidden (Twelfth) Imam, able to communicate with him, convey messages and questions, and return replies. In 1844, Sayyid Ali Muhammad al-Shirazi claimed to be a new bab or agent of the Hidden Imam; his followers became known as Babis. Later, in 1848, he claimed that he was in fact the Hidden Imam, returned as the Mahdi to replace the Qur'an and Shari'a with a new prophetic teaching.
Neither Momen nor many other sources (listed below) give a clear idea why Babism became popular. The most light is shed by an unsourced article on the Wikipedia-like website Everything2, which suggests that Babism gained many adherents because it initially preserved and endorsed many traditional Shi'a teachings and enhanced them with a new claim to divine authority. Combine that with the information in a New Catholic Dictionary article that Babism enjoined a number of austerities that might have popularly been seen as having become neglected (effectively a 'return to traditional values') and the mention Momen makes of a sort of Millenialism associated with 1844 being the 1000th year since the occlusion of the 12th Imam, and one forms an impression of a group perhaps similar to some 'End Times' groups in the modern Christian world, blaming the ills of the world (political, economic) on believers' falling away from their faith and urging them to reform. With the subsequent claim by Sayyid Ali that he was not only the Bab but in fact the Twelfth Imam returned from occlusion, the Mahdi himself, this impression of 'a saviour for our sinful world' is reinforced.
Both Momen and the other sources cited leave no doubt as to the reasons for the downfall of the movement. Babis, always somewhat inclined to an aggressive self-defense, became more radical and more violent with the imprisonment of their leader, his call for a jihad to convert the unbelievers, and then his execution (in 1850). Forces like these, critical of both the government and the ulama of the day (seen by many as having become corrupt) and challenging the very cornerstone of religious orthodoxy were certainly revolutionary and bound to be the target of unrelenting civil and religious persecution. The flames of antagonism between the ulama and the Babis were doubtless stoked by the underlying philosophy of Shaykhism, from which Babism had come, which rejected a great deal of the ulama's rationalism and legalism, relying instead on intuitive insight and belief. Shaykhism has also denied the possibility of a direct experience of God, instead relaying on various human intermediaries between God and humanity, thus moving further from orthodox Islamic belief.
Momen also makes the case that in Shi'a polities, especially that of Iran (where Shi'a, once the minority, had become the dominant sect), the search for scapegoats is constant and that the instinctive persecution complex of the traditionally preyed-upon Shi'i is prone to see guilt for the woes of the present day (whatever they may be) in any who disagree with the ulama, especially religious or ethnic minorities (a fate that still burdens Baha'i, an offshoot of the Babis that has effectively become a new religion).
text: Momen, Moojan. (1985). An Introduction to Shi'i Islam. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Web articles on Babism
Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A1b%C3%ADs]
Encyclopedia of the Orient [http://lexicorient.com/e.o/babism.htm]
Brittanica Concise and Columbia Encyclopedias [http://www.answers.com/topic/babism]
New Catholic Dictionary [http://www.catholic-forum.com/SAINTS/ncd00948.htm]
Everything 2 article [http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=191294]
