Why Are Shi‘as Still Mourning? Death, Muharram & Senses with Dr Babak Rahimi | Thinking Islam Ep. 11

Can mourning become a pathway to the divine?

Has the modern world sanitised death, and does Muharram insist we don’t look away?

Drawing from his forthcoming book Senses of Mourning, Dr Babak Rahimi of UC San Diego asks a question many have wondered, but few have explored: why do Shi'as keep mourning? This episode reveals mourning not as passive grief but as active devotion, a technique for connecting to God through the body, the senses, and collective memory. We explore how modernity's devotion to pleasure has pushed death to the margins, how Muharram insists we confront what modern life conceals, and why the senses are not obstacles to the sacred but pathways toward it. From the festive dimensions of grief to the standardisation of ritual by state and digital platforms, this conversation moves through the space where philosophy meets performance, and where the body becomes a site of hope.

Dr Babak Rahimi is an Associate Professor of Communication, Culture and Religion at UC San Diego, where he directs the Program for the Study of Religion and the Middle East Studies Program. His research focuses on sensory religion, public sphere theory, and the historical contexts of early modern Islamicate societies. He is the author of "Theatre-State" and "The Formation of the Early Modern Public Sphere in Iran" (Brill, 2011) and editor of "Performing Iran" (I.B. Tauris, 2021).

Audio Chapters:

0:00 – Highlights

01:30 – Why Muharram Performances?

5:50 – Mourning as Religiosity?

18:06 – Mourning as Technique

26:02 – Muharram as Festive Events

36:01 – Role of Senses in Muharram Devotion

46:14 – Panja and Symbolism

51:00 – Memory as a Sense?

57:00 – Gender and Muharram Performances

59:50 – Self-Flagellation as Performance?

1:06:40 – Muharram and the Other

1:11:00 – Why Western Thinkers?

1:19:40 – Modern World and the Sense of Smell

1:24:27 – Digital and the Standardisation of Muharram Rituals

1:38:28 – Thinking Islam Question

📖 Get the Book: "Senses of Mourning" by Dr. Babak Rahimi

🔗 Penn Press: https://www.pennpress.org/9781512828344/senses-of-mourning/

🔗 Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Senses-Mourning-Moharram-Performances-Qajar/dp/1512828343