The Perceptibility of the Invisible Cosmology: Religious Rituals and Embodied Spirituality Among the Bahraini Shi'a
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The Perceptibility of the Invisible Cosmology Religious Rituals and Embodied Spirituality among the Bahraini Shi‘a El-Sayed el-Aswad Abstract: This article analyses the relationship between the seen and the unseen in the cosmology and practices of Bahraini Shi‘a. Rather than contrasting the visible and the invisible, the study delineates the hierarchical relations between them, within a whole or cosmology, as reflected in various discursive and non- discursive actions that are supported by the religious beliefs of Bahraini Shi‘a. Issues of the Hidden Imam, concealment, dissimulation and other unseen dimen- sions of the cosmos are discussed. The article finds that the Shi‘a construct the invisible in their social world by using visible ways of creatively enacting their hidden thoughts and beliefs, as represented in their religious discourses, rituals and body symbolism. Their belief in a divine higher power provides a source of emotional, spiritual and socio-political empowerment. Keywords: Bahrain, cosmology, Hidden Imam, invisibility, rituals, Shi‘a, spiritual- ity, symbolism Introduction Departing from enquiries that focus largely on Shi‘i political power in various countries,1 this study attempts to explicate the significance of cosmology to Bahraini Shi‘a2 within a broad perspective that encompasses their relation- ship to the world with its seen and unseen dimensions. Although the details of different modes of thought among Bahraini Shi‘a are not comparable, the principles by which collective representations are organised may be general- ised. The subject matter is treated not as an ideological abstraction but rather as an active and meaningful engagement that is reflected in people’s everyday actions, as well as in objects and bodily displays symbolising social signifi- cance. As such, it comprises both ethnographic research3 – conducted in the Anthropology of the Middle East, Vol. 5, No. 2, Winter 2010: 59–76 © Berghahn Journals doi:10.3167/ame.2010.050205 60 ← El-Sayed el-Aswad capital city Manama4 and in five villages5 – and phenomenological inquiry that incorporates objective description and subjective interpretation. By examin- ing their inner perspectives and social imaginary, the study shows how Bah- raini Shi‘a use visible ways of creatively enacting and embodying their hidden thoughts and beliefs as represented in sanctified places, religious discourses (husainiyya)6 and ‘Ashura7 mourning rituals. A further concern of this research is the impact of religious discourses and rituals on the visible socio-political lives of Bahraini Shi‘a. Theorising the Invisible Scholars such as Beeman (1982), Geertz (1960), Gilsenan (1982) and Pin- ault (1992), among others, have made distinctions between two paradigms of Muslim experience: one visible, seen, material, textual or apparent (z.āhir); the other invisible, unseen, imagined, spiritual, mystic, inner or hidden (bāt.in). These ideological antitheses, however, express the views of scholars who choose not to examine them from the emic perspective of the Muslim people them- selves. Most of these studies that present visible and invisible domains as oppo- sites pay little attention to their interconnected and multi-dimensional levels, which encompass cosmological, social and personal elements. An alternative view, proposed here, envisions these categories as standing in relation to one another rather than in opposition. This relation can be best comprehended through applying Dumont’s idea (1986) of hierarchical complementary oppo- sition, in contrast to the binary symmetric opposition of Lévi-Strauss (1963) in which two opposites have equal status. Dumont (1986: 8) argues that ‘hier- archy is implicit in various aspects of people’s cosmology and social life’. His method seeks to delineate hierarchies of relations within a whole as akin to the mode of comparison by ‘proportioning’, meaning ‘the relation as to magnitude, degree, quantity, or importance that exists between portions, parts, a part and the whole, or different things’ (Tambiah 1990: 125–126). Rappaport (1999: 72) points to hierarchical levels of meaning in which high-order meaning, based on unification with the other, the cosmos, or the divine, may be experienced ‘as effects of or as parts of, that which they signify’. Shi‘i cosmology is based on an eschatological construct anchored in a mes- sianic figure: the Invisible (Awaited) or Hidden Imam (al-Mahdi al-Muntaz.ar).8 For Bahraini Shi‘a, the relationship between al-Mahdi and the invisible Shi‘i cosmos can be comprehended through focusing on the hierarchically comple- mentary relationship between the part and the whole (Dumont 1986). Invisibility is a holistic yet multifarious concept that connotes ideological and social meanings. Ideologically, invisibility indicates what is existentially absent, unseen, spiritual, imperceptible, internal and hidden. As expressed by a Shi‘i person, one can speak about hidden worlds, the Hidden Imam, hidden meaning, hidden knowledge, hidden sentiments, inner lives and an unknown The Perceptibility of the Invisible Cosmology → 61 future. Socially, invisibility signifies specific liminal and underprivileged social categories, such as suppressed religious sects, minorities, immigrants, women, children and the unemployed, as well as traditional groups whose marginal status has been aggravated as a consequence of local and global socio-political factors. Such groups seek possible alternatives, both to restore meaning or visibility to their particular heritage and to reduce the eroding elements of their identities. Historical and Social Contexts Bahraini Shi‘a, locally known as ‘Baharna’, designating the Arab Shi‘a who con- sider themselves to be the original inhabitants of the country (Louër 2008b: 11), adopted Shi‘ism from the first days of the Islamic community, following Imam ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib9 (Bahry 2000: 132). They believe in the Twelve Imams and are therefore also referred to as ‘Twelvers’ (ithna ‘ashariyya).10 Like other Shi‘a, they believe that Imam ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib should have been the first imam (caliph) or successor of the Prophet. The martyrdom of Imam Husain (680 ce)11 (son of Imam ‘Ali, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad and the third imam of the Shi‘a) and his companions is considered the epitome of sacrifice and the foun- dation of Shi‘i culture.12 The Arab population of Bahrain was Shi‘i centuries before the country was conquered in 1783 by the ruling Sunni family, who alienated and excluded the Shi‘a from power (Bahry 2000: 133; Holes 2005: 145; Louër 2008b: 16). How- ever, the ‘ulama (religious scholars) of Bahraini Shi‘a, through dissimulation (taqiyya) and diplomacy, have since played a conciliatory role. Taqiyya involves passive resistance, emphasising manoeuvring and artful forms of resistance instead of direct confrontation with opposing authorities (Scott 1985). Reli- giously, Bahraini Shi‘a embraced Akhbari, acting compromisingly towards the established orders.13 ‘Bahrain is one of the few places, if not the only one, where Akhbari has maintained a strong presence to this day, becoming the distinctive attribute of Bahraini Shiism’ (Louër 2008b: 19). The strategic location of Bahrain is significant, and its proximity to Iran is felt in the Shi‘i community, just as the proximity to Saudi Arabia is felt in Sunni religious spheres (Shehadeh 2004: 26). Bahrain is ‘a country known for its religious tolerance’ (Bahry 2000: 131; see also Shehadeh 2004: 32), and there has been ‘a negligible probability for civil war in Bahrain’ (Laitin 2009: 40). However, while the Shi‘a have ‘never revolted against the Sunni rulers, resentment was high against those they considered alien conquerors’ (Louër 2008a: 38). Such a conflict ‘had little to do with sectarian antagonism’ (ibid: 11). Hence, it is not violent conflict between Shi‘a and Sunni but rather notions of injustice (z.ulm) that have influenced the circumstances of two different groups, one (Shi‘a) subordinated to the other (tribal ruling elite) through historical inequality. As seen in recent studies, Bahraini Shi‘a have 62 ← El-Sayed el-Aswad employed socio-political activities, ranging from petitions to streets demon- strations (masīrāt), to express their discontent.14 The suffering caused by discrimination and injustice has resulted in a sol- emn yearning to establish societal justice (‘adl), an essential principle in Shi‘i religious, social and political views. The idea of an invisible reality taking prec- edence over the visible world sustains the notion that ‘justice will inevitably be attained by a higher power’ (el-Aswad 2002: 90). For the Shi‘a, al-Mahdi, a living cosmic figure, is expected to return as the divinely guided ruler to establish a reign of justice at the end of time. Until then, the ‘ulama serve as the link to the Awaited Imam. The ‘ulama and ordinary Shi‘i people are viewed as standing in a complementary and hierarchical position in which each group holds qualities that uniquely equip its members for certain duties and respon- sibilities. Hierarchically, the ‘ulama mediate between the imam and Shi‘i folk, who, in turn, seek guidance from the ‘ulama. Shi‘i people further differentiate between sayyid and shaikh or ‘ālim. As opposed to the shaikh, a person of reli- gious learning, a sayyid is a descendant of the Prophet’s family (āl al-bayt) and is distinguished by wearing a black turban (see fig. 1), especially when certified in religious knowledge. Society and the cosmos are viewed by the Shi‘a as composed of levels in which some entities have greater intrinsic dignity or value than others. This Figure 1: The author (centre) with a sayyid (left with black turban) and shaikhs (wearing white turbans) The Perceptibility of the Invisible Cosmology → 63 hierarchical differentiation is believed to be the proper order of things. Holy persons, particularly imams, are depicted as having enduring and powerful souls. During my fieldwork, Noriyya, a young Shi‘i woman, explained that ‘the Infallible Imams (al-ma‘asumīn) have greater dignity and value than others. They are religious leaders with authority to whom we, the Shi‘a, have an inner attachment and to whom obedience is obligatory’.