Research Article

From Lament to Resistance: Theopolitical Mourning in Shia Islam and Biblical Traditions

Number: 19 May 31, 2026
TR EN

From Lament to Resistance: Theopolitical Mourning in Shia Islam and Biblical Traditions

Abstract

This article compares mourning and lamentation in Biblical religiosity and Shia Islam within this essay. This study moves away from the tendency of academics to see grief as a mere psychological reaction to death. Instead, as a practice, it sees grief as theological, social and political. Based on ritual theory and the continuing bonds approach, the present article builds on earlier work in arguing for mourning and memorialization as a tool to preserve memory and to protest ethically. Biblical mourning is examined as a form of moral protest and theological questioning through a conceptual analysis of sacred texts and ritual performances. In addition, Shia mourning a collective act of ritualized ethical and political devotion through, for example, ta’ziyeh and matam, positions the sacred suffering of Imam Hussein as a source of justice. A discussion of Biblical and Shia Mourning indicates that both practices of lamentation negotiate divine silence and political exile; further, both practices allow believers to strengthen their ties with the dead and collective identity. This paper adds to our understanding of mourning by regarding grief as an affective performative. Ritualized mourning practices in both traditions, therefore, are counter-discursive responses against the dominant power. In other words, in both Biblical and Shia mourning, the use of grief must definitely be considered as an instrument of political and ethical unpacking of death and suffering in the margins ascertaining the dignity of the victim. The article further argues that the transmission and ritualization of mourning contribute to the formation of a shared ethical grammar across historical contexts and sectarian differences.

Keywords

Ethical Statement

In this research article, ethics committee permission was not required as the data were not obtained using surveyor interview techniques.

References

  1. Aghaie, K. S. (2004). The martyrs of Karbala: Shi’i symbols and rituals in modern Iran. University of Washington Press.
  2. Aghaie, K. S. (2006). Review of the book The Islamic Drama, by J. Malekpour. Iranian Studies, 39(1), 147-149. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021086200022878
  3. Alexiou, M. (2002). The Ritual Lament in Greek Tradition (2nd ed., Revised by D. Yatromanolakis & P. Roilos). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
  4. Anderson, B. (2009). Affective atmospheres. Emotion, Space and Society, 2(2), 77-81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.emospa.2012.11.002
  5. Asad, T. (2003). Formations of the Secular: Christianity, Islam, Modernity. Stanford University Press.
  6. Assmann, J. (1995). Collective memory and cultural identity. New German Critique, 65, 125-133. https://doi.org/10.2307/488538
  7. Attig, T. (2011). How we grieve: Relearning the world (Rev. ed.). Oxford University Press.
  8. Bayram, K. (2026). Sivil din teorisinin paradigmatik inşası: Bellah, Durkheim ve Rousseau arasında. İmgelem, (18), 327-354. https://doi.org/10.53791/imgelem.1844541

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Sociology of Religion, Sociology of Culture, Middle East Studies

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

May 31, 2026

Submission Date

January 10, 2026

Acceptance Date

March 10, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Number: 19

APA
Ayaz, H., & Korzec, C. (2026). From Lament to Resistance: Theopolitical Mourning in Shia Islam and Biblical Traditions. İmgelem, 19, 348-373. https://doi.org/10.53791/imgelem.1860658
AMA
1.Ayaz H, Korzec C. From Lament to Resistance: Theopolitical Mourning in Shia Islam and Biblical Traditions. İMGELEM. 2026;(19):348-373. doi:10.53791/imgelem.1860658
Chicago
Ayaz, Hacer, and Cezary Korzec. 2026. “From Lament to Resistance: Theopolitical Mourning in Shia Islam and Biblical Traditions”. İmgelem, nos. 19: 348-73. https://doi.org/10.53791/imgelem.1860658.
EndNote
Ayaz H, Korzec C (May 1, 2026) From Lament to Resistance: Theopolitical Mourning in Shia Islam and Biblical Traditions. İmgelem 19 348–373.
IEEE
[1]H. Ayaz and C. Korzec, “From Lament to Resistance: Theopolitical Mourning in Shia Islam and Biblical Traditions”, İMGELEM, no. 19, pp. 348–373, May 2026, doi: 10.53791/imgelem.1860658.
ISNAD
Ayaz, Hacer - Korzec, Cezary. “From Lament to Resistance: Theopolitical Mourning in Shia Islam and Biblical Traditions”. İmgelem. 19 (May 1, 2026): 348-373. https://doi.org/10.53791/imgelem.1860658.
JAMA
1.Ayaz H, Korzec C. From Lament to Resistance: Theopolitical Mourning in Shia Islam and Biblical Traditions. İMGELEM. 2026;:348–373.
MLA
Ayaz, Hacer, and Cezary Korzec. “From Lament to Resistance: Theopolitical Mourning in Shia Islam and Biblical Traditions”. İmgelem, no. 19, May 2026, pp. 348-73, doi:10.53791/imgelem.1860658.
Vancouver
1.Hacer Ayaz, Cezary Korzec. From Lament to Resistance: Theopolitical Mourning in Shia Islam and Biblical Traditions. İMGELEM. 2026 May 1;(19):348-73. doi:10.53791/imgelem.1860658