The Hojjatiyeh Society in Iran

Ideology and Practice from the 1950s to the Present

R. Cohen

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9781349454594, 9781137304766
• eBook ISBN: 9781137304773
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Middle Eastern Politics
• Index: Politics & International Relations

This book analyzes the evolution of the Hojjatiyeh movement in Iran, a semi-clandestine movement which emerged in the 1950s as an anti-Baha'i movement, went underground in the 1960s, and re-emerged openly after Iran's 1979 revolution with its members coming to occupy some of the highest echelon posts in Iranian politics

Part I

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The Spiritual Background to the Imamate Shi’a—Ithna A’shariyyah and the First Half of the Twentieth Century

Chapter 1

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The Story of the Shi’a

The Creation of the Shi’a

Shi’a Islam is the second largest stream in Islam with about 15 percent of all Muslims being Shiite compared to the Sunnah with 80 percent. The Sunni religious leaders in the Middle Ages did not consider the Shi’a to be part of Islam due to fundamental differences in religious doctrine, and the recognition of the Shi’a stream by the Sunnah took place only later at the end of the Ottoman period. The main reason for this was the active presence of Western colonialism in the Muslim states. It appears that Sunni scholars and modernists such as Muhammad Abduh and Jamal ad-Din al-Afghani, who were part of the national and modernist stream, acted more with words and less by real actions in their recognition of the Shi’a as part of the Muslim community so they could have them as allies in the pursuit of their anti-Western political aims.¹ Throughout the Ottoman rule, however, even though the Shiites were regarded as “sinful” or “deviationist,” they were still regarded as Muslims. Up to the mid-nineteenth century the Ottomans and the Wahhabis banned various Shi’i practices such as the ‘Ashura (ta’ziyah) processions, or public cursing of the first three caliphs, and destroyed their holy shrines² but did not disrupt the functioning of the Shi’i seminaries (madaris). Following the Ottoman suppression of the 1843–1844 Karbala rebellion, however, the Ottomans did allow these processions and the Shiites were not required to pay the jizya or any other tax that non-Muslims had to pay.³

Recognition of the Shi’i minority also came from the Saudi Arabian regime who “in the eighteenth century considered the Shi’is as miscreant, and desecrated their shrines in Iraq, [but] now, not only treat the Shi’i Iranian[s], at least officially, as equal Muslims but are also tolerant of their own Shi’i subjects.”⁴

In the Thawrat al-I’shrin (the revolution of the 1920s) in Iraq against the British, the Shiites “saw themselves as at least equal partners in the future Iraqi state,” and in this particular case, the Shiites were alone in their fight against the British as “only a few Sunni leaders were opposed to the British, and in fact many of them had worked closely with them and sought their support.” This fight against the British had deep roots in the Shi’i opposition as they, at first, preferred to be dominated by the Sunni regime (the Ottomans), rather than by the British who represented Christian superiority over Islam. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire the Shiites believed that they would share political power with the Sunnis, but, to their misfortune, they were ultimately dominated by both the Sunni and the British.⁵

At this point there needs to be a brief review of what Shi’a is. The word “Shi’a” itself means a section, a group. Among the Shiites Ali Ibn Abi Talib, Muhammad’s cousin, the husband of his daughter Fatima and the first or second after Muhammad to adopt Islam, is considered to be the fourth caliph and the sole heir of Muhammad. The power of the three first caliphs, Abu Bakr, U’mar, and U’thman, is not recognized by the Shiites as legitimate.⁶ The foundation of the sect is attributed to Ali’s son, Hussein, who, together with his family and supporters, was murdered by the Sunni army led by Yazid, Mua’wiyah’s son, near the Iraqi city of Karbala. On his commemoration day, the day of ‘Ashura, the Shiites perform self-flagellation as a symbolic mourning of his martyrdom and the history of repression imposed on the Shiites by the Sunnis. As can be seen the Shi’a’s worldview in general, in fact, has remained pessimistic and gloomy. In addition to the holiness of Mecca, the Shiites have other sacred cities, the most important being Karbala and Najaf in Iraq. The Shi’a comprises several subdivisions that believe in the dynasties of various imams such as the Ithna A’shariyyah who expected the return of the Hidden Imam who disappeared in the ninth century and is expected to come back as the Mahdi (Messiah) at the End of Days.⁷

The Theological Differences between the Sunnis and the Shiites

The differences between the Shiites and the Sunnis are both theological and historical. From the theological aspect, it is a question of various beliefs regarding principles of Islam and concerns, for instance, the tawhid (the doctrine of the oneness of God), nobuwa (prophecy), and imamate (leadership). They are also different in their religious emotion with the Shiites considered to be more emotional, messianic, and more populist. Both the Shiites and the Sunnis reject oral traditions that are not compatible with the Prophet Muhammad’s statements. However, the Shiites reject the Sunnis’ transmitters of hadith as unreliable since these traditions have usually favored Ali’s opponents. The Shiites have their own transmitters and see the statements of the Imams as the genuine hadith.⁸

The Shiites believe there is just one God who is not limited in any way and who is good and just and this is why His judgment is right. According to the Shiites God relates to both the good and evil in men and He will not return evil for good or vice versa. Human beings are given the choice between good and evil and this choice will decide their future and destiny.⁹

There are also differences regarding other principles in Islam. The Shiites consider the prophets/messengers (Abraham being the first prophet and Muhammad the last) to have been appointed by God and, as such, they are perfect (in their faith, their word, their thoughts, and their acts—‘Ismah—Ma’sumin). The Shiites believe that God appoints a perfect man in each era to be the heir of the Prophet and the defender of Islam. The Sunnis also believe that there are other ways to carry out Islamic leadership.¹⁰ Mulla Muhammad Baqir, known as ‘Allama Majlisi, says in his comprehensive and significant work Bihar al-Anwar that “jumlat alqaul fihi—ay fi mabhuth al-ismah—an ishabna al-imamiat ajmau’a a’la ismati al-anabiai walimati salawat allahi a’lihum min al-dhunubi al-zrirati wu’l-kabirati a’mdan wa khataa wa al-nasiana qabla al-nubuwati wal-imamati wal-ba’ad huma, bal min waqti wildatihim ila an yalqaw allah ta’ali . . . ” (Conclusion: that is, in the study of infallibility—that our companions have unanimously agreed that the Imami infallibility of the Prophets, and the Imams’ blessing of Allah be on them, not only in regard to both the deliberate small and the large sins and errors and the mistakes made before his prophethood and Imamate and after but also from the time of their birth to when they lie with God . . . ).¹¹

The Sunnah attributes an important role to the stories and traditions of Muhammad and, in this regard, the Shi’a differs from the Sunnah. The Shi’a makes a distinction between Muhammad’s faithful friends and others who were also his friends but were not really faithful and invented stories and historical events. It is for this reason that the Shiites believe all stories concerning the Prophet should be rationally tested for accuracy and sources.¹²

According to the Shi’a, it is incorrect to think that it separated at a later stage or emerged from the main stream of Islam since, as per many testimonies (among both Shiites and Sunnis), the prophet Muhammad divided his followers into those who followed the Imam Ali (Shi’a in Arabic) and those who did not. Both Shiite and Sunni testimonies show that after Muhammad’s death, the Imam Ali was opposed to the government of Abu-Bakr and ‘Umar. The Sunnis believe that there is nothing in the Quran or the hadith that refers to the fact that the role of the imams is part of the pillars of Islam as argued by the Shiites who emphasize the opposite and believe in the centrality of the imams. The Shi’ites consider the imam to be a divinity who is perfect and endowed with prophetic powers but they do not attribute these powers to their divinity for they are dependent on God’s will.¹³ In any case both groups have different arguments and definitions regarding Islam and for this reason they can be considered to be two different groups from the very beginning.

Essential Principles of the Shiite Faith

Like the Sunnis, the Shiites follow the five pillars of Islam: shahada, which is testimony, namaz, which is prayer, zakat, which is charity, sawum, which is the fast, and the hajj, which is the pilgrimage to Mecca. The Shi’a embraces another three pillars, some of which come from ancient traditions and sources and have new and temporary interpretations: the Khoms tax, which means the donation of a fifth of one’s income for charity and is a very ancient costume in the Shi’a, and the jihad, which is a holy war for the defense of Islamic nations and is still obligatory till the return of the Hidden Imam as He is the only one who can declare jihad. The real jihad in the eyes of the Shi’a is, however, “the war against one’s own corrupt desires and inclinations, and is an ever-present battle” (dar zaman-i ghaybat jihadi nist).¹⁴ Rola el-Husseini states that “[t]he authority under which jihad is waged is both religious and political. In Shi’ism, a rightful jihad can be waged only under the leadership of the Imam. According to Shi’a beliefs, the Imam has been in occultation since the ninth century and no rightful Jihad can be waged in his absence.”¹⁵ ‘Allama Majlisi emphasized in Bihār al-Anwār,¹⁶ his hadith collection: “wila jihad ila ma’ al-Imam” (there is no Jihad without the Imam), which it derives from the Quranic sentence (Aya) (Quran 5:54) “a’la alkafarina yujahiduna fi sabil allah . . . ” (stern with the disbelievers, and will strive in the cause of God . . . ).¹⁷ However, only during the nineteenth century did Shi’i scholars permit the waging of a defensive jihad. The third and last pillar is the demand to do good (Amr bi’l Ma’ruf) and avoid malicious thoughts, words, and acts (Nahy a’n al-Munkar).¹⁸

The followers of the Ithna A’shariyyah stream believe in five fundamental principles of the Shiite faith:

1. There is only one God and Prophet Muhammad is the last prophet sent to humankind, the first prophets being Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and then Muhammad as the Seal of the Prophets (this is actually the Shahada: lā ilāha illallāh, wa Muhammad rasūlu-llāh).¹⁹

2. The resurrection of body and soul on Judgment Day.

3. Divine justice or punishment will be dispensed to followers who have acted according to their free spirit.

4. The twelfth imam, the legitimate heir of Muhammad, is the leader of the Islamic world.

5. The recommendation of making a pilgrimage to the Shi’a holy places.

The first three pillars belong both to Shiites from other streams and to Sunnis—not only to the Twelfth Shi’a stream. On the other hand, the Shi’a imam leadership is a basic concept that relates to the leader not only in concrete matters but also in a spiritual sense as the leader is responsible for translating and explaining the Quran and the Prophet’s word. In addition the Shiites have added other elements that differ from Sunni Islam, such as the changing of inheritance laws, divorce, temporary marriage (nikāh al-mut‘ah), and the obligation to conceal one’s religion when in danger (taqia and tawria).²⁰

The Shiites who are the followers of the 12 imams believe that they are sinless, errorless, and appointed by God after Muhammad. According to the Shi’a, the imam leadership started during Ali’s times and some theories say that it already existed during the Prophet’s life. After Uthman’s assassination, Ali became the caliph of the Muslim community but his authority and legitimacy were questioned. Indeed the Shiites consider Ali to be the first imam and his sons Hassan and Hussein as his successors, the second and third imam, respectively. This goes on until the twelfth and last imam, the Hidden Imam who will return on Judgment Day to judge the world.²¹

Ali took part in all of the Prophet’s wars but one, and the Prophet chose him to be the husband of his daughter, Fatima. The Shiites consider the close relationship between Ali and the Prophet as the foundation for the Shi’a legitimacy. When Ali was 6 years old Muhammad invited him to live by his side and the Shiites believe that Ali was the first to give a testimony of faith in Islam. Ali also slept in Muhammad’s bed on the Hijra day when they traveled from Mecca to Medina because of the threat that Muhammad’s enemies would break into the house and kill the Prophet.²²

The Role of the Imamate

The Shi’a religion developed its theological principles along with its leadership principles and, in this respect of the Imamate, this integrates the historical and theological narratives. The historical debate between the Sunnah and the Shi’a about the identity of the community’s leader shaped the character of the Shi’a, especially during the period of the fifth and sixth imams (Muhammad al-Baqir and Ja’far al-Sadiq, respectively), the worldview of the imam’s role within their community, and especially the role that the imams carry out on behalf of the Islamic world—not only the world of the Shi’i.

The differences between Shi’a and Sunnah are quite substantial and, in regard to this specific issue, the Imamate is really unique and special to the Shi’a itself. In general, the Sunnis see the leadership, especially after the Prophet’s death, as a “temporal leadership,” since the Caliph “is a first among equals, elected ideally by consensus.”²³

On the other hand, the Shi’a sees this principle as a fateful question that has led to the deepening and constructiveness of the idealization of the Imamate that was created by the Shi’a imams and scholars. The principles that were arrived at after the debate about the first leadership following the Prophet’s death created new issues regarding the leadership. From this point on, the role of leadership in the eyes of the Shi’a had both an earthly and a divine role, just as was represented by Muhammad the Prophet—and this gave the ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• List of Abbreviations
• Part I   The Spiritual Background to the Imamate Shi’a—Ithna A’shariyyah and the First Half of the Twentieth Century
• Part II   The Baha’i Faith and the Emergence of the Hojjatiyeh
• Part III   Postrevolution Era and the Hojjatiyeh as a Counterrevolutionary Movement
• Conclusions
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index