Twelver Shi'i Self-flagellation Rites in Contemporary Syria: Mourning Sayyida Zaynab

This book examines contested Muharram practices, as well as the institutions and authorities that promoted or condemned them until 2011, when most Shi‘is fled Syria.

For 40 years, the Syrian shrine town of Sayyida Zaynab was a place of miracles, where violence engendered healing. To experience miraculous healing, Shi‘is attended mourning gatherings, studied at seminaries, self-flagellated, and frequented spiritual healers. Supported by the political establishment, Shi‘i institutions arose t...