What is the origin of the ritual of Ashura? (part 9)

There is a footnote from Werner Ende ("The Flagellations of Muharram and the Shi'ite 'Ulama") citing the work of Muhammad Mahdi al-Qazwin which was published in 1927

the use of iron (in tatbir) was initiated "about a century ago" by people not well versed in the rules of the Shari'a

The author also quoted two work about the beginning of tatbir in Iraq (one in 1913 another is 1978)

It is related that the practice was imported to these cities by Shi'i Turks, who came to Karbala and Najaf on pilgrimage from the Caucasus or Azerbaijan

The author also believe that this practice is connected to the Ghulats and also the Sufis

It seems that the flagellations were introduced into Imami Shi'ism by extremist Shi'i groups, probably by the Qizilbash, whose doctrine and rituals were regarded by Imami Shi'i orthodoxy as exaggerated in reverence for the imams.

The Armenian highlands, and the Caucasus were converted by Safavid sufi shaykhs to whom the converts owed obedience in their capacity as their supreme spiritual leaders. The shaykhs made Ardabil in northern Iran a center designed to maintain the contacts between them and their new disciples (murids). With the establishment of the Safavid dynasty, the murids were given the nickname Qizilbash (redhead).

Please continue reading part 10