Traditions of Martyrdom in the Modern Middle East

(Last Update: 12.10.2011)

Friday, 14.10.2011
9.30–10.45
Sasha Dehghani/Silvia Horsch: Introduction

Angelika Neuwirth (FU Berlin): Revisiting Islamic Passion Stories. About the Suppression of Emotions and their eventual Re-impowerment

Continuity and Transformation in Religions – the Example of the Baha’i Faith
Chair: Sasha Dehghani

11.15–13.00
Sasha Dehghani (ZfL): Redefining Jihad and Victory. On the Transformation of Martyrdom in the Baha’i Faith

Per-Olof Akerdahl (Gavle): Martyrdom and Servitude in the Babi- and Baha’i Faiths

Moojan Momen (Wilmette Institute Evanston): Between Shahadat and Shahadat. A Contest of Martyrdom Narratives


Representations in Art and Ritual
Chair: Miriam Younes

15.00–16.30
Agnès Devictor (Sorbonne Paris): Staging martyrdom in Iranian films during Iran-Iraq War. Shifts in Combat Film as a Genre

Stephan Milich (Göttingen): Images and Counter-Images of the Martyr in Modern Iraqi Literature and Architecture


17.00
Sabrina Mervin (EHESS Paris): Introduction to The Procession of the Captives

Film: The Procession of the Captives by Sabrina Mervin (France 2006, in Arab. with engl. Subtitles, 57 min)

Discussion


Saturday, 15.10.2011

9.30–11.00
Maryam Palizban (FU Berlin): Ta‘ziyeh. Aufführung eines Kollektivmordes

Alice Bombardier (EHESS Paris): Representation of Martyrdom in the Mural of Khorramshahr’s Mosque


Ideological Discourse and Political Action
Chair: Andreas Pflitsch

11.30–13.30
Silvia Horsch (FU Berlin/ZfL): Blood and Sacrifice. Entangled Genealogies in the Writings of Abdallah Azzam

Verena Voigt (Münster): The Martyr as Seed for the Nation – The Symbolic Construction of Martyrdom in Palestine and Sri Lanka

Liza Franke (Leipzig): The Discursive Construction of Palestinian istishhadiyat within the Frame of Martyrdom


Kritik und Dekonstruktion
Chair: Silvia Horsch

15.30–17.00
Monique Bellan (FU Berlin): Zwischen Ethik und Ästhetik. Zur Dekonstruktion der Märtyrerfigur in der zeitgenössischen libanesischen Kunst

Claudia Brunner (ZFF Klagenfurt): MärtyrerInnen, HeldInnen und ExpertInnen. Überlegungen zum Zusammenhang zwischen politischer und epistemischer Gewalt in der Terrorismusforschung


17.30
Joachim Negel (Marburg): Zwiespältiges Martyrium? Zur Frage nach der Valenz religiöser Zeugenschaft, dargelegt am Beispiel des Martyriums der Trappistenmönche von Tibhirine/Algerien

Film zum Martyrium der Mönche von Tibhirine (Regie: Xavier Beauvois, Frankreich 2010, auf Dt., 122 min)

The figure of the martyr has a long tradition in the Islamic Middle East. The prominent place the martyr occupies in conflicts of modern times is described as a »recurrence of martyrs«, often perceived as a »backslide« into a pre-modern concept. However, not only have the historical and political circumstances changed due to colonialism and nation-state building. With the advent of mass media and new techniques of image production the media conditions regarding the ›making of martyrs’ altered as well. Hence the inclusion of traditional cultic, legal or narrative elements into current discourses on martyrdom can be described more apt as adaptations or re-stagings.
In the figure of the martyr mediations in various fields can be explored: between different religious and inner-religious traditions, between traditional and modern concepts of ›religion‹, and between different media responsible for the production of commemoration (text, image, film, etc.). Concepts related to the martyr like ›hero‹, ›sacrifice‹, ›redemption‹ or ›jihad‹ underwent modifications in this process as well. During the conference, we want to look into the mediations and transformations the figure of the martyr brings about.

Event for ZfL semester theme: Vom Nachleben der Religion(en) im Wintersemester 2011/2012

Supported by the Center for International Cooperation (FU Berlin)