Isma‘ili Continuity and Social Change: Chronotopes and Practicing <i>Taqiyya</i> within the Sulaymani Community of Saudi Arabia
This paper examines discourses around the religious and social practice of <i>taqiyya</i> among members of the Sulaymani Isma‘ili community in Saudi Arabia. Isma‘ilism, in the context of 1200 years of anti-Shi‘a discrimination, cultivated the practice known as <i>taqiyya</i>...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Languages |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/8/4/275 |
| _version_ | 1797380347731640320 |
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| author | Aidah Aljuran Jarred Brewster |
| author_facet | Aidah Aljuran Jarred Brewster |
| author_sort | Aidah Aljuran |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper examines discourses around the religious and social practice of <i>taqiyya</i> among members of the Sulaymani Isma‘ili community in Saudi Arabia. Isma‘ilism, in the context of 1200 years of anti-Shi‘a discrimination, cultivated the practice known as <i>taqiyya</i> (Arabic, ‘circumscription’) as a tool for self-preservation, which was then further rationalized and reinforced by the sect’s esoteric theology. <i>Taqiyya</i> consists of concealing religious identity, public avoidance of certain rituals, and, in some instances, claiming to be a member of the unmarked Sunni majority. Sweeping changes in Saudi society in the last several years have meant a growing ambivalence about <i>taqiyya</i> and its continued utility. This is significant since <i>taqiyya</i> for many of our interlocutors in this study is not merely a survival tactic. Instead, it is better understood as an embodied disposition cultivated against the backdrop of household privacy. This disposition intimately links everyday comportment to the esoteric cosmology of Isma‘ilism, which is the distinctive and iconic feature of the faith. Our interlocutors’ narratives demonstrated how the invocation of different spatial and temporal frameworks provides a basic heuristic by which to interpret these individuals’ accounts of <i>taqiyya</i>. For some of these individuals, <i>taqiyya</i> is an essential and timeless practice, while for others, the meaning has been reshaped by the recent socio-political reforms. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:36:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9c6a652f92b2455fbb83a70e0844ef8c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2226-471X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:36:02Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Languages |
| spelling | doaj.art-9c6a652f92b2455fbb83a70e0844ef8c2023-12-22T14:20:57ZengMDPI AGLanguages2226-471X2023-11-018427510.3390/languages8040275Isma‘ili Continuity and Social Change: Chronotopes and Practicing <i>Taqiyya</i> within the Sulaymani Community of Saudi ArabiaAidah Aljuran0Jarred Brewster1Department of Linguistics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15206, USADepartment of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USAThis paper examines discourses around the religious and social practice of <i>taqiyya</i> among members of the Sulaymani Isma‘ili community in Saudi Arabia. Isma‘ilism, in the context of 1200 years of anti-Shi‘a discrimination, cultivated the practice known as <i>taqiyya</i> (Arabic, ‘circumscription’) as a tool for self-preservation, which was then further rationalized and reinforced by the sect’s esoteric theology. <i>Taqiyya</i> consists of concealing religious identity, public avoidance of certain rituals, and, in some instances, claiming to be a member of the unmarked Sunni majority. Sweeping changes in Saudi society in the last several years have meant a growing ambivalence about <i>taqiyya</i> and its continued utility. This is significant since <i>taqiyya</i> for many of our interlocutors in this study is not merely a survival tactic. Instead, it is better understood as an embodied disposition cultivated against the backdrop of household privacy. This disposition intimately links everyday comportment to the esoteric cosmology of Isma‘ilism, which is the distinctive and iconic feature of the faith. Our interlocutors’ narratives demonstrated how the invocation of different spatial and temporal frameworks provides a basic heuristic by which to interpret these individuals’ accounts of <i>taqiyya</i>. For some of these individuals, <i>taqiyya</i> is an essential and timeless practice, while for others, the meaning has been reshaped by the recent socio-political reforms.https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/8/4/275<i>taqiyya</i>chronotopenarrativessecrecyIslamIsma‘ilism |
| spellingShingle | Aidah Aljuran Jarred Brewster Isma‘ili Continuity and Social Change: Chronotopes and Practicing <i>Taqiyya</i> within the Sulaymani Community of Saudi Arabia Languages <i>taqiyya</i> chronotope narratives secrecy Islam Isma‘ilism |
| title | Isma‘ili Continuity and Social Change: Chronotopes and Practicing <i>Taqiyya</i> within the Sulaymani Community of Saudi Arabia |
| title_full | Isma‘ili Continuity and Social Change: Chronotopes and Practicing <i>Taqiyya</i> within the Sulaymani Community of Saudi Arabia |
| title_fullStr | Isma‘ili Continuity and Social Change: Chronotopes and Practicing <i>Taqiyya</i> within the Sulaymani Community of Saudi Arabia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Isma‘ili Continuity and Social Change: Chronotopes and Practicing <i>Taqiyya</i> within the Sulaymani Community of Saudi Arabia |
| title_short | Isma‘ili Continuity and Social Change: Chronotopes and Practicing <i>Taqiyya</i> within the Sulaymani Community of Saudi Arabia |
| title_sort | isma ili continuity and social change chronotopes and practicing i taqiyya i within the sulaymani community of saudi arabia |
| topic | <i>taqiyya</i> chronotope narratives secrecy Islam Isma‘ilism |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/8/4/275 |
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