INTRODUCTION

Shi'i1 background

At the dawn of the modern age, messianic claims of divine commission appeared in various places around the world. In 16652 Shabbetai Zevi declared himself the Jewish Messiah but later made the scandalous move of converting to Islam ostensibly to avoid capital punishment. At the turn of nineteenth century William Miller used Biblical calculations to “prove” that Christ would return in 1843 and various sectarian Christian groups such as the Seventh-Day Adventists, the Bible Students (who later became Jehovah’s Witnesses) and Mormonism arose in the ferment of messianic expectation.

In the Islamic world, claims of the appearance of the Mahdi were not new. Various pretenders had arisen over the centuries: from the Ismaili leader ‘Ubayd Allah in 902 to the Sudanese Muhammad Ahmad in the 1880s; whenever Muslim communities experienced political upheaval, a section of the community responded by advancing eschatological claims.

In Shi‘i Iran, expectations of the Mahdi centred on the interpretation that the promised one was the reappearance of the twelfth Imam who had gone into occultation in 874. He would be followed by the return of ‘Isa ibn Maryam3 and other Imams and saintly figures.4

Shi‘ism had developed a variety of sectarian movements including the radical Shaykhi movement which appeared early in the nineteenth century. Founded by Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsa’i (1753-1826), himself influenced by the mysticism of Mulla Sadra, the movement advocated a number of heterodox interpretations of Shi‘i beliefs including an emphasis on inner truth over the externality of shari‘ah law; the notion that the Hidden Imam existed not physically on earth, but in the realm of archetypal ideas and that resurrection referred to a spiritual phenomenon in the unseen realm rather than a material, physical event. After Shaykh Ahmad’s death the movement was lead by Sayyid Kazim Rashti (1759-1843) during whose time the conflict between orthodox Shi‘i Islam and the Shaykhis deepened.5 Karim Khan (1810-1871) succeeded Sayyid Kazim after the latter’s death (although there were a number of breakaway offshoots) and the movement incorporated western modes of knowledge and developed an evolutionary theology.6

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References

1In transliterating Arabic and Persian names and words, I have chosen not to use diacriticals except for the single closing apostrophe ’ used to represent hamza and the single opening apostrophe ‘ used to represent ‘ayn. The exception to this is in reproduction of the transliteration of proper names and titles in referenced works. Foreign words are italicised, except for proper names and those that would ordinarily appear in English dictionaries. Except where they appear in quotations of works by other authors, I have chosen to use transliterations that are closest to the original pronunciation (such as Muslim instead of Moslem, Baha’ Allah instead of Baha’u’llah). An exception has been made for those names specifically spelled in English a certain way by their owners (such as Shoghi instead of Shawqi).

2Because I am dealing primarily with the nineteenth century of the Common Era, I will use that calendar rather than the Islamic one, unless otherwise noted.

3As this is an academic work, traditional blessings after the names of Prophets and revered figures are not included, as the practice appears awkward when writing in English.

4Momen, Moojan, An Introduction to Shi’i Islam: The History and Doctrines of Twelver Shi’ism (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1985) 166.

5Momen, An Introduction to Shi’i Islam 226.

6Armstrong, Karen, The Battle for God: Fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam (London: HarperCollins Publishers, 2001) 128-129.

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