Hearing the Voice from the Veil. an Ethnographic Inquiry Into the Mourning for Lady Zainab by Toronto Shiites
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
HEARING THE VOICE FROM THE VEIL. AN ETHNOGRAPHIC INQUIRY INTO THE MOURNING FOR LADY ZAINAB BY TORONTO SHIITES ALI ABBAS MEHBOOB HIRJI A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTERS OF ARTS. GRADUATE PROGRAM IN SOCIOLOGY YORK UNIVERSITY TORONTO, ONTARIO MARCH 2015 ©Ali Abbas Mehboob Hirji, 2015 ABSTRACT The religious flux experienced by Indo-Pakistani Shiites in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) raises insightful questions about how and why their lamentation assemblies are modified. Although the martyrdom of Hussain and his companions at the siege of Karbala has an existential importance to Shiite mourning, a premium is also placed on the narrative of Lady Zaynab, the first granddaughter of the Prophet Muhammad. I use the veneration of Zaynab as my guide into explaining ritual change within this Shiite diaspora. Zaynab was Hussain‟s comrade in spirit and, in the absence of Zaynab, Hussain‟s resistance was futile – her strength of mind, compassion and dedication make her the cornerstone of Shiite belief and the driving force behind the panorama of Shiite mourning rituals and assemblies. These mourning rituals are discussed through my participation in them during my formative years in Dubai, the strict formulae to our mourning and the socioeconomic, political circumstances within which our mourning transpired. Through the authoritative discourses that mediated our mourning, I highlight the ritual change I unexpectedly witnessed upon migrating to the Greater Toronto Area, how it is received by the elder members of the Shiite diaspora and the fluid interpretations of Shiite mourning within the context of ritual theory, identity and diaspora. This unsettles any assumption of the essential fixity of Shiite Islam by emphasizing the power relations that mediate rituals and the interpretive scope. The narrative of Zaynab remains central to the work – Markazi Matami Sangat Toronto, the core group behind the ritual change, was formed in the courtyard of her shrine and a series of interviews and discussions on power and memory provide an understanding of how and why Shiite mourning rituals have witnessed significant modifications in the multicultural Greater Toronto Area. ii DEDICATION To my father and mother, for encouraging me to question, and to my grandparents, whose journeys through India, East Africa and the Middle East gave us the freedom to. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am thankful to Dr. Michael Nijhawan for his patience and passion. Undeniably, his supervision allowed me the time to develop sociological technique and transfer my experiences into this thesis. I am also grateful to Dr. Hyun-Ok Park for guiding me through the initial proposal of my work and emphasizing the necessary theoretical frameworks. This work has gone through a series of revisions and conceptualizations – my committee‟s tireless dedication has been inspirational. The administrative energy from York University‟s Graduate Program in Sociology has ensured that my work came together neatly. I owe much gratitude to Audrey Tokiwa for being responsive at all times to my academic needs. Lastly, thank you to Dr. Walid El Khachab for joining my committee as an external reader. His deep understanding of Shiite history has most certainly opened distinct future research paths – I thank him for his passion and commitment to the academic study of the many “Islams” that exist. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ……………………………………………………………………………………......ii Dedication ……………………………………………………………………………………. iii Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………………………... iv Table of Contents ……………………………………………………………………………... v Introduction: Mourning Rituals for Zaynab, the Untaught Scholar …………………………....1 0.1 Approaching the research question ……………………………………………...3 0.2 Zaynab & the emergence of Islam‟s Shiite minority sect ………………………11 0.3 Shiite resistance through communal mourning rituals .………………………...17 0.4 Migration from the Indo-Pak & religious placemaking .……………………… 21 Chapter 1: Learning to Mourn ……………………………………………………………….. 25 1.1 From the Indo-Pak to the United Arab Emirates ……………………………… 26 1.2 Mourning at the Pakistani Punjabi Imambargah ……………………………… 29 1.3 Matam with my father ………………………………………………………… 36 1.4 A pilgrimage to Zaynab‟s shrine in Damascus and questioning Matam ……....39 1.5 Matam then & now: what has changed ………………………………………...45 Chapter 2: Theorizing Matam ……………………………………………………………….. 47 2.1 Defining ritual ……………………………………………………………….. 51 2.2 Ritualization, ritual, change & Matam ………………………………………. 59 2.3 The socioeconomic & cultural context of Matam …………………………… 63 Chapter 3: Mourning in the Greater Toronto Area ………………………………………….. 66 3.1 The migration of Shiites to the GTA ………………………………………... 72 3.2 Becoming a diaspora ………………………………………………………....75 3.3 The first Imambargah in the GTA…………………………………………….78 3.4 Recreating Lahore & Lucknow ………………………………………………81 3.5 Markazi Matami Sangat Toronto …………………………………………….85 Chapter 4: Interviews ………………………………………………………………………...87 4.1 Zaynab teaches me to be free ………………………………………………...92 4.2 Zaynab makes my voice heard ……………………………………………….98 4.3 Zaynab understands me ……………………………………………………...104 4.4 Zaynab and our responsibility ……………………………………………….108 Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………………..113 Bibliography ………………………………………………………………………………...121 v INTRODUCTION: MOURNING RITUALS FOR ZAYNAB, THE UNTAUGHT SCHOLAR The following thesis studies Shiite mourning rituals with one major objective: to provide sociological insight into the increased frequency of these rituals in Toronto‟s Indo-Pakistani Shiite diaspora. Although the types of ritual may differ, Shiites predominantly organize mourning rituals in the first two months and eight days, Ayam e Aza, of the Islamic lunar calendar wherein they congregate to mourn the martyrdom of their patron saints from the lineage of the Prophet Muhammad1. During the Ayam e Aza, Shiites strictly refrain from joyous celebrations and commit themselves entirely to mourning. However, the group of contemporary immigrants (mostly second generation immigrants from Pakistan) I will study participate in weekly lamentation assemblies extending beyond the standard mourning periods. The religious flux experienced by these Indo-Pakistani Shiites raises insightful questions about why and how their lamentation assemblies modify in Toronto. It further questions the tension between the second generation and community elders who take issue with the validity, appropriateness and nature of these modifications – perhaps, I argue, identity and a “true self” is heavily problematized and community elders sense a steady erasure of the core features of their identity which they have laboriously established in Canadian contexts (Hall 1989: 339). Although the martyrdom of Hussain, the prince/lord of martyrs, and his companions at the siege of Karbala has an existential importance to Shiite mourning2, a premium is also placed on the narrative of 1 Al Naqvi, Syed Ali Naqi. A Historical Review of The Institution of Azadari For Imam Hussain. Karachi: Peer Muhammad Trust, 1974. 2 Ali, Ahmed. Hussain:The Saviour of Islam. New York: Baldwin, 1974. 1 Lady Zaynab, the first granddaughter of the Prophet Muhammad. I use the veneration of Zaynab as my entrance into explaining ritual change within this Shiite diaspora. Zaynab is merited as the pioneer of the system of Shiite mourning rituals and mourners in Toronto embark on annual pilgrimages to her shrine to pay homage to her for successfully resisting a hegemonic and oppressive ruling Caliphate3. In fact, it was during a visit to Zaynab‟s shrine in 2006 that Toronto‟s chief Shiite mourning group, Markazi Matami Sangat Toronto (MMST), was founded. The increased frequency of these mourning assemblies, specifically around the ritual of self- flagellation, in Toronto suggests a renewed vigor and perspective within this diaspora‟s second generation. Currently, Shiites in the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent, specifically in Pakistan, routinely witness target killings by militant groups and perhaps Zaynab‟s prominence in the diaspora underscores her role in empowering the Shiite community and protecting its identity. Additionally, Shiites as a whole are contesting a variety of political battles in the Middle East – the theological teachings and political advice from the Shiite clergy have mobilized a variety of responses across the diaspora and I inquire into how this speaks to MMST. Lastly, the context within the GTA itself cannot be ignored and it is appropriate to examine whether the onerous images of Islam and general debate around Muslim practices in the Western world have had any bearing on their renewal exercise. The analysis of ritual change facilitates multiple theoretical discussions. Inherent within this is a need to understand the Canadian context, and I use discourses around multiculturalism to argue possible reasons and implications of the ritual changes – perhaps the modifications are in response to the failures of multiculturalism in accommodating for the diversity within Islam? The discussions around multiculturalism in 3 Al Shahid, Abdullah. The life of Fatima Az-Zahra, The Principal Of All Women. Qum: Ansariyan Publications, 2006 2 Canada began in 1971 to encourage cultural diversity within the society (Farrar 2012: 9). Yet, specifically post 9-11, fears around militant Islam have shifted public sentiment away from the multicultural ideal and Muslim communities are increasingly suspect for their religious practices and rituals (Modood 2013: