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Internet Mahdism in the (re)Shaping of Shi‘i Iran
Abstract
Internet Mahdism in the (re)Shaping of Shi‘i Iran With the rise of digital technology Islamic communities have incorporated new communication technologies for various experiential and institutional activities. While changes in such technologies have involved complex social consequences in the broad socio-structural context, religious subjectivities and communities continue to shape and be shaped by new technological practices. This study examines the phenomenon of Internet communication in the reconfiguration of key Shi‘i Twelver practices in post-revolutionary Iran. It focuses on variations of online Shi‘i Iranian millenarian discourses and practices and argues that Internet is impacting such beliefs in terms of authority, authenticity, community and public ritual practices. These transformations are not about technology changing Shi‘i Iran, the paper argues, but rather how agency engages with technology in reproducing new conceptions of millenarianism in the context of Iranian public life. The paper offers an analytical-theoretical discussion of what it calls “Internet Mahdism” by focusing on various textual, visual and audio productions made possible on digital space, wherein new conceptions of space, time, self and politics are negotiated and contested. In particular, it examines these transformations through social media production of apocalyptic themes, public rituals such as nimeh shaban, and pilgrimage rites associated with visitation sites such as Jamkaran. Finally, the paper offers an interpretation on the complex relationship between technology and religion in the context of Shi‘i Iranian life, which continues to undergo changes in terms of popular and official religious cultures.
Discipline
History
Geographic Area
Iran
Sub Area
19th-21st Centuries