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“Allahu Akbar” Ritual Speech Act in Today's Muslim Communities

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“Allahu Akbar” Ritual Speech Act in Today's Muslim Communities Contemporary Sociopolitical Functions of the “Allahu Akbar” Ritual Speech Act in Today’s Muslim Communities: A Focus on the Iranian Society Mohamad Ghazanfari1a, Atena Attaran2a, Mohammad Zabetipour3a Abstract ARTICLE HISTORY: As an Islamo-Arabic utterance, throughout the history of Islam, “Allahu Akbar” has been widely used as one of the Received May 2019 most influential religious slogans since the advent of Islam in Received in revised form July 2019 the 7th century CE. However, during the last four decades, it Accepted September 2019 has gained a fairly global reputation thanks to various Available online September 2019 functions it has pragmatically come to serve in different social settings. Recently, it has been particularly assigned a world-wide notoriety due to the terrorist acts by extremist Islamist factions. This study aimed at identifying the social, political, and religious contexts in which contemporary Muslims recite “Allahu Akbar” with various pragmatic KEYWORDS: meanings in mind, making a special distinction between ordinary, peaceful contexts of use and violent contexts, Ritual speech acts Speech act theory where, in the latter, it is mostly heard from the mouths of Contemporary Islamic world extremist factions like ISIS, who, as well, associate Allahu Akbar themselves with Islam. We have, finally, identified eleven Iranian Muslims pragmatic functions the utterance serves in today’s Islamic societies, with a special focus on the Iranian context. © 2019 IJSCL. All rights reserved. 1 Associate Professor, Email: [email protected] (Corresponding Author) Tel: +98-915-5721223 2 PhD Candidate, Email: [email protected] 3 PhD Candidate, Email: [email protected] a Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran M. Ghazanfari et al./ International Journal of Society, Culture & Language, 7(2), 2019 ISSN 2329-2210 95 1. Introduction spreading more Islamophobia throughout the world, creating a horrifying image of Islam as riginally an Islamic utterance in Arabic, an oppressive and violent religion (see, e.g., “Allahu Akbar” is nowadays frequently Jackson, 2010; Powell, 2011). It seems that O heard over domestic and/or satellite TV Islamophobia and associating some Islamic channels or read about in the news stories on slogans with terrorism have become so the Internet by many people at almost any widespread and notorious that some Muslims corner of the globe. However, during the last are afraid or ashamed of speaking out their four decades or so – at least for some people religion publicly in some Western countries, so who are not well acquainted with Islamic that a mother at a US airport was overheard doctrine – it seems to have become more telling her son to secretly pray without citing associated with violence, terrorism, extremism, the phrase ‘Allahu Akbar’ loudly (see Zakaria, and bloodshed rather than with peaceful 2016). Or recently the mayor of Venice, Italy, spirituality, heavenly religious teachings, and declared, “We will shoot anyone who shouts divine providence. Thus, it seems that quite an ‘Allahu Akbar’ in St. Mark’s Square” (“Mayor innocuous expression, an everyday phrase has of Venice”, 2017). It seems that some non- been tarnished by violent attacks (Nagourney, Muslims have come to the notion that “Allahu 2017). No doubt, such a widespread notoriety is Akbar” is just a battle cry uttered by someone mainly attributable to terrorist attacks by who is about to perform jihadist operations by Muslim extremists, by terrorists like ISIS and blowing himself up among an innocent crowd. Al Qaeda and their sympathizers, who represent a tiny fraction of Muslims (see, e.g., Ali, 2017), However, despite being associated with violent or by the so-called jihadist salafis, a extremism, or terrorist Islamic factions, fundamentalist branch of Sunni Islam, who historical evidence suggests that the utterance was hardly synonymous with violent, radical recognize only their own selective actions from the viewpoint of early believers, interpretation of the Qur’an and Hadiths and even non-believers, in Islam. Numerous (the collections of reports on the words, evidential facts may be raised in support of such deeds and practices of the Prophet a claim. Firstly, since the very beginning days Muhammad and the second most of Islam in the seventh century CE, Muslim authoritative source of Islamic scripture) muezzins have repeatedly cried “Allahu Akbar” as legitimate sources of scripture, law, from the tower of mosques five times daily to personal and social behavior. (Wignell, call people to join congregational prayers. Tan, & O’Halloran, 2016, p. 4) Secondly, the utterance is articulated as a familiar refrain (i.e., a frequently repeated The members of such extremist factions “are phrase) by Muslims several times while aggressively militant and believe that they have praying, almost with every change of body an obligation to conduct a military campaign posture, regardless of whether the prayer is against all who they regard as enemies of performed collectively or individually. Thirdly, Islam” (Wignell et al., 2016, p. 4). They claim the utterance has frequently been used by to be the righteous defenders of true Islam, Muslims in several other contexts which might assuming the right to label even other Muslims not have anything to do with its ritualistic or who do not obey them as non-believers or religious functions whatsoever, as we discuss it apostates who are liable to be punished by death below. – hence, justifying the mass killings of innocent people (see, e.g., Kepel, 2002). True This study has aimed to investigate various uses representative followers of such extremist and pragmatic functions of the speech act factions are the terrorists who shout “Allahu “Allahu Akbar” in different contexts among Akbar” while ramming a vehicle into innocent two major groups of Muslims: Arabic native crowds, opening fire on crowds attending a speakers and Persian native speakers. Although concert, blowing themselves up and killing or it is the researchers’ contention that the social, wounding innocent people nearby, or attacking religious or pragmatic functions we have people in a shopping mall with an open knife in identified for the utterance under investigation hand (see, e.g., “Two Fatally Stabbed”, 2016). may be applicable to approximately any Islamic The result of such terrorist acts has been community regardless of their indigenous 96 Contemporary Sociopolitical Functions of the “Allahu Akbar” Ritual Speech Act language or culture, we admit that our study context by the holy Prophet himself, during the might still fall short of being a comprehensive hard time when Medina was under siege by the investigation embracing all the pragmatic idol-worshippers of Mecca in the fifth year of functions the utterance might assume in various Hegira (626 CE). While Muslims were day and cultural or social contexts throughout the night busy digging a deep wide channel, or Islamic world. moat, round the town to be filled with water to prevent the enemy from entering the town, the In what follows, we start with a historical Prophet himself, having joined his men in background of the utterance since the advent of digging up the moat, lifted a pick and struck the Islam about 14 centuries ago. Then, we discuss ground. As soon as the pick touched the ground, the theoretical grounding of the study, followed there was an eye-catching flash of light in the by a description of the methodology applied, dark, the astonishing light being repeated with and identifying various contexts in which the the following hits of the ground. Immediately, speech act in question is nowadays articulated the Prophet recited loudly “Allahu Akbar” three within contemporary Islamic communities. times, and the companions around him also repeated “Allahu Akbar” (see Al-Tabari, 1879; 2. Theoretical Framework Tabari, 1974). The Prophet then told his men that with each flash of light he was inspired that Etymologically, “Allahu Akbar” (literally his followers were going to seize one part of the meaning “God is greater”) consists of two world in the east and west. Arabic words: Allah (literally, ‘God’) and Akbar (comparative adjective, derived from kabeer, After the first quarter of the 7th century, as meaning ‘great’). According to Islamic culture history tells us (see, for instance, Tabari, 1974), and theology, the very verbal act of reciting early Muslims would recite the utterance in “Allahu Akbar” is labeled as “takbeer”, several other occasions and contexts other than meaning “praising” or “glorifying” God. As to religious situations, mostly during the religious the meaning the utterance conveys, Ibn al- wars against non-believers (i.e., pagans or Qayyim (2002) clarifies: apostates, as they came to be known in the Islamic theology). “Allahu Akbar” literally means, “Allah is Greater”, with the comparative mode. In the modern era, especially, since the second Yet, this does not mean that He . is not half of the 20th century, the Islamic world has the Greatest, nor does it mean that there witnessed several social and political upheavals is anything that is put in comparison with and revolutions. The yelling of ‘takbeer’ has Him. This is because when the Muslim also been frequently heard during such says it, he means He is “Greater” than sociopolitical movements throughout the anything else, which, consequently, Islamic world (e.g., during the last decade, in means He is the Greatest …. (p. 463) Egypt, Syria, Tunisia, etc.). From a historical perspective, as it was briefly However, Iranian protesters and demonstrators mentioned above, “Allahu Akbar”, as an Islamic in defiance of the Shah's regime in 1979 were ritual motto, has been uttered by Muslims since perhaps the first to apply “Allahu Akbar” for the advent of Islam, recited loudly four times in sociopolitical purposes, yelling rhyming the very beginning of each call for the five daily slogans like “Allahu Akbar; Khomeini rahbar” prayers by muezzins from the tower of the (God is greater; Khomeini is the leader) while minarets.
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