A Critique of the Theory “Ashura as Stagnation in an Inversion Ritual”

Ahmad Saadat

 

Abstract: The event of Ashura has been extensively examined and discussed by Muslims and researchers, particularly Western orientalists. One significant domain in Ashura studies is “ritual research,” where various theories have emerged. One of these theories is the perspective of Hans Kippenberg, a retired professor at Jacobs University in Bremen, Germany. He believes that one of the consequences of globalisation is the increase in religious violence and that Ashura rituals are one of the prominent examples of religious violence. He interprets these rituals as “rituals of overthrow.“ In a work titled “Every Day is Ashura, Every Land is Karbala: Iran from 1977-1981,”1 Kippenberg analyses religious violence and wars in the age of globalisation. The perspective of Hans Kippenberg is critically analysed in this article using descriptive, analytical, and critical methods. This discussion is crucial because Kippenberg, as a prominent theorist of ritual studies in the West, may contribute to a misleading representation of Ashura rituals in Western academia if his views are not scrutinised. According to the analysis conducted in this article, Kippenberg categorises rituals into three phases: inversion, liminality, and reintegration. He claims that the rituals of Ashura are confined to the first stage, interpreting them as “stagnation in a state of inversion.” A detailed description, explanation, and evaluation of Kippenberg’s theory reveal that he presents flawed, incomplete, and distorted accounts of Ashura ceremonies. His phenomenological and reductionist analysis, which focuses solely on the external aspects of the rituals, fails to grasp their deeper meaning. In contrast to Kippenberg’s claims, Shi’a Muslims not only transcend the inversion stage but also return to active individual and social life. They engage in collective life marked by rationality, justice, and spirituality, paving the way for the establishment of a global, just government.