Ayatollah Khomeini’s Mystical Poetry and its Reception in Iran and the Diaspora
Diede Farhosh-Van Loon
- Title
- Ayatollah Khomeini’s Mystical Poetry and its Reception in Iran and the Diaspora
- Author
- Diede Farhosh-Van Loon
- Price
- € 116,99
- ISBN
- 9789400604469
- Format
- eBook PDF (Adobe DRM)
- Number of pages
- 256
- Language
- English
- Publication date
- 10 - 01 - 2023
- Dimensions
- 15.6 x 23.4 cm
- Series
- Iranian Studies Series
- Discipline
- Language and Literature
- Also available as
- Hardback - € 117,00
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Notes on transliterations, translations and footnotes
Introduction
1 The Clergy’s Role in Politics
Iran’s Socio-Political Situation under the Qajar Dynasty (1785-1925)
Clergy-State Relations during the Qajar Period
The Role of the Clergy during the Constitutional Revolution (1905-1911)
The Clerical Response to Constitutionalism
The Rise of Reza Shah and the Curtailment of the Clergy’s Role
The Clergy’s Response to Reza Shah’s Modernisation Policies
The Clergy under Mohammad Reza Shah
Rise of Ayatollah Khomeini
2 Ayatollah Khomeini’s Inner World: Mysticism and Poetry
Ayatollah Khomeini’s Mysticism
Studies of Ayatollah Khomeini’s Mysticism
The Role of Mysticism in Ayatollah Khomeini’s Life
Ayatollah Khomeini’s Poetical Work
The Role of Poets and Poetry in Persian Society
Ayatollah Khomeini’s Poetry
3 Ayatollah Khomeini, the Topical Poet and his Quatrains (robâ.is)
Robâ.is in Historical Perspective
Structure of the Persian Robâ.i
Robâ.is by Ayatollah Khomeini
Biographical Elements: A Dialogue with Ayatollah Khomeini’s Daughter-in-Law
Mystical Love
The Iran-Iraq War
Martyrdom and Shiism
The Mystic Mansur Hallâj
The Ka.ba, the Holy House of God Despised
Conclusion
4 Ayatollah Khomeini as an Antinomian Poet: Lyrical Poems (ghazals)
Structure of the Ghazal
Themes and Motifs in the Ghazal
The Ghazal in Historical Perspective
Ayatollah Khomeini’s Poetry inspired by Hâfez
Ayatollah Khomeini’s Imitation of the Ghazal
Antinomian Elements in Ayatollah Khomeini’s Ghazals
Censure of the House of God in Mecca in Ayatollah Khomeini’s Ghazals
Conclusion
5 Ayatollah Khomeini, the Shiite Philosopher and his Panegyric Poems (qasides)
The Qaside in Historical Perspective
Ayatollah Khomeini’s Qasides
The Concept of the Mohammadan Light
Veiling and Mystical Unveiling
Mohammad al-Mahdi, the Twelfth Shiite Imam
Rejection of the Monarchy
Mahdi’s Representative on Earth: A Predecessor to Velâyat-e Faqih
Spiritual Perfection and Leadership
Anti-British Tendencies in Ayatollah Khomeini’s Qasides
The Shiite Interpretation of Oppression
Islamic Governance
Conclusion
6 Reception of Ayatollah Khomeini’s Poetry in Iran and Abroad
Responses of Followers to Ayatollah Khomeini’s Poetry
Responses to Ayatollah Khomeini’s Poetry in the Diaspora
Conclusion
General Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgments
Notes on transliterations, translations and footnotes
Introduction
1 The Clergy’s Role in Politics
Iran’s Socio-Political Situation under the Qajar Dynasty (1785-1925)
Clergy-State Relations during the Qajar Period
The Role of the Clergy during the Constitutional Revolution (1905-1911)
The Clerical Response to Constitutionalism
The Rise of Reza Shah and the Curtailment of the Clergy’s Role
The Clergy’s Response to Reza Shah’s Modernisation Policies
The Clergy under Mohammad Reza Shah
Rise of Ayatollah Khomeini
2 Ayatollah Khomeini’s Inner World: Mysticism and Poetry
Ayatollah Khomeini’s Mysticism
Studies of Ayatollah Khomeini’s Mysticism
The Role of Mysticism in Ayatollah Khomeini’s Life
Ayatollah Khomeini’s Poetical Work
The Role of Poets and Poetry in Persian Society
Ayatollah Khomeini’s Poetry
3 Ayatollah Khomeini, the Topical Poet and his Quatrains (robâ.is)
Robâ.is in Historical Perspective
Structure of the Persian Robâ.i
Robâ.is by Ayatollah Khomeini
Biographical Elements: A Dialogue with Ayatollah Khomeini’s Daughter-in-Law
Mystical Love
The Iran-Iraq War
Martyrdom and Shiism
The Mystic Mansur Hallâj
The Ka.ba, the Holy House of God Despised
Conclusion
4 Ayatollah Khomeini as an Antinomian Poet: Lyrical Poems (ghazals)
Structure of the Ghazal
Themes and Motifs in the Ghazal
The Ghazal in Historical Perspective
Ayatollah Khomeini’s Poetry inspired by Hâfez
Ayatollah Khomeini’s Imitation of the Ghazal
Antinomian Elements in Ayatollah Khomeini’s Ghazals
Censure of the House of God in Mecca in Ayatollah Khomeini’s Ghazals
Conclusion
5 Ayatollah Khomeini, the Shiite Philosopher and his Panegyric Poems (qasides)
The Qaside in Historical Perspective
Ayatollah Khomeini’s Qasides
The Concept of the Mohammadan Light
Veiling and Mystical Unveiling
Mohammad al-Mahdi, the Twelfth Shiite Imam
Rejection of the Monarchy
Mahdi’s Representative on Earth: A Predecessor to Velâyat-e Faqih
Spiritual Perfection and Leadership
Anti-British Tendencies in Ayatollah Khomeini’s Qasides
The Shiite Interpretation of Oppression
Islamic Governance
Conclusion
6 Reception of Ayatollah Khomeini’s Poetry in Iran and Abroad
Responses of Followers to Ayatollah Khomeini’s Poetry
Responses to Ayatollah Khomeini’s Poetry in the Diaspora
Conclusion
General Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
Reviews and Features
"Ayatollah Khomeini’s strikingly “unorthodox” poems, published shortly after his death in 1989, provoked very diverse reactions, and discussions about how to interpret them continue to this day, both among the academic community and among his staunch supporters and ardent opponents. Ayatollah Khomeini’s Mystical Poetry and its Reception in Iran and the Diaspora formulates the main research question exactly as «how to interpret Ayatollah Khomeini’s mystical poetry» and “how his aspirations to worldly power and to mystical sublimation are reflected in his poetry” and makes a significant contribution to solving these intriguing problems. . Natalia Chalisova, Russian State University of Moscow This monograph is novel, well-written, and exceptionally well organized. This work will prove to be seminal in years to come in Western publications as it is the most comprehensive work on Ayatollah Khomeini’s poetry and poetics. The hermeneutic approach is quite apt in that it considers social, anthropological, and political dimensions of Ayatollah Khomeini’s poetics. . Alireza Korangy, American University of Beirut "
Diede Farhosh-Van Loon
Ayatollah Khomeini’s Mystical Poetry and its Reception in Iran and the Diaspora
There are many publications dealing with the political career of Ruhollah Khomeini (1902–1989), who transformed the political landscape of Iran and the Middle East after the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Most of the research conducted in the West is on Khomeini’s political strategies, while the influential role of mysticism in all facets of his life is ignored. This book is the first study examining Khomeini’s poetry, mysticism and the reception of his poetry both in Iran and the West. It investigates how Khomeini integrated various doctrines and ideas of Islamic mysticism and Shiiism such as the Perfect Man into his poetry.
Author
Diede Farhosh-Van Loon
Diede Farhosh-van Loon obtained her PhD in Persian Studies from Leiden University in 2016. She is currently the project coordinator for the ERC Advanced Grant, Beyond Sharia: The Role of Sufism in Shaping Islam, in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Utrecht University.
