Harms of Arbaeen Hosayni Walk: A Sociological Study

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Associate Professor, Department of Social Sciences, Ayatollah Boroujerdi University, Boroujerd, Iran

Abstract

The Arbaeen Hosayni Walk is a transnational, historical, multidimensional, trans-religious, and interdisciplinary phenomenon with various functions and consequences, which has long been of special importance and prestige and has been considered a super event. Pilgrimage rituals with such a large population from different countries and cultures certainly face different harms. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct a sociological study of the harms that threaten the Arbaeen Hosayni Walk so that by accurately identifying and eliminating them, we can prevent their consequences and destructive effects. Using a theoretical and purposeful sampling method, 20 Iranian and Iraqi pilgrims were interviewed on the Arbaeen footpath from Najaf to Karbala in September 2017. The data of this qualitative study were collected through a combined method of observation and semi-structured interviews. The findings show that the harms that threaten the Arbaeen Walk are as follows: cultural differences and conflicts, competition between Iranian mawakeb (tents) and the destruction of the traditional pattern of Iraqi Arbaeen ritual, social harms, secularization, extravagance, waste and environmental pollution, lack of attention to the duties of religion, the existence of deviant sects, the Sunni-Shiite divide, and the governmentalization of the ritual.  Findings show that improving the status quo, deepening religious knowledge, and raising awareness about the philosophy of the Arbaeen Walk should be given priority.

Keywords

References

The Holy Quran. 2014. Translated by Hoseyn Ansariyan, Tehran: Sureh.
Bayat, Bahram; Mir Abbasi, Hamid. 2018. Jameshenasi Maddahi dar Iran (Sociology of Eulogy in Iran), Tehran: Research Institute of Islamic Sciences and Culture. [in Farsi]
Giddens, Anthony. 1999. Jamehshenasi (Sociology), Translated by Manuchehr Saburi, Tehran: Ney. [in Farsi]
Hamilton, Malcolm. 2009. Jameshenasi Din (The Sociology of Religion), Translated by Mohsen Tholathi, Tehran: Tebyan. [in Farsi]
Jamshidiha, Gholam Reza; Ghobadi, Ali Reza. 2007. "Tahlil Jamehshenakhti az Marasem wa Manasek Dini ba Takid bar Marasem Ashura (Sociological Analysis of Religious Ceremonies and Rituals with Emphasis on Ashura Ceremonies)", in: History of Islam, no. 2, pp. 37-60. [in Farsi]
Khamenei, Seyyed Ali. 2002. Bayanat Magham Moazzam Rahbari dar Jam Mardom (Statements of the Supreme Leader to the People), in: Khamenei.ir. [in Farsi]
Moinipur, Masud. 2016. "Zarfiyatshenasi Ayin Piyadehrawi Arbaeen dar Mowajeheh Orfishodan wa Orfizodayi (The Capacity of Arbaeen Walking in the Face of Secularization and De-secularization)", in: https://rasanews.ir/fa/news/448908. [in Farsi]
Mosawati Azar, Majid. 1995. Asibshenasi Ejtemai Iran: Jameshenasi Enherafat (Social Pathology of Iran: Sociology of Deviations), Tabriz: Nobel Publishing. [in Farsi]
Nejati, Mohammad Said. 2017. "Asibshenasi Meydani Marasem Piyadehrawi Arbaeen Hosayni az Zawiyeh Farhang Ziyarat dar Islam (Field Pathology of Arbaeen Hosayni Walk from the Perspective of Pilgrimage Culture in Islam)", in: Pilgrimage Culture, no. 31, pp. 167-195. [in Farsi]
Puyafar, Mohammad Reza. 2019. Olguy Faaliyat-ha wa Tajrobeh Kheyr Dini dar Ayin Piyadehrawi Arbaeen: Gozareshpajuhi (The Pattern of Religious Activities and Experiences in the Arbaeen Walking Ritual: A Research Report), Tehran: Ala Strategic Charitable Foundation. [in Farsi]
Ritzer, George. 2008. Nazariye Jamehshenakhti dar Doran Moaser (Sociological Theory in Contemporary Times), Translated by Mohsen Tholathi, Tehran: Scientific. [in Farsi]
Sayyed Razi. 1994. Nahj al-Balaghah, Qom: Al-Hejrah House.
Seddigh Sarwestani, Rahmatollah. 1999. Asibshenasi Ejtemai (Social Pathology), Tehran: Samt. [in Farsi]
Tawassoli, Gholam Abbas. 2011. Nazariyeh-hay Jamehshenasi (Sociological Theories), Tehran: Samt. [in Farsi]
Shi`a Pajoohi
Volume 8, Issue 22
August 2022
Pages 113-137

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics