Real Tashayyu blog had another interesting post on the Muharram Rituals of the Early Shias. I am reproducing the English translation of the quote (all rights reserved to the to the blog)

Rather, (any) reporter (historian) did not mention that anyone from the Shia public performed it (violent Muharram rituals such as tatbir) or that one of their scholars permitted it, in the era in which all the kings of the Islamic countries were Shia. That is the period in which al Buhaivi (founder of the Buyid regime) was the king of Persia and Iraq, and other countries were ruled by his family/progeny. And the Abbasid caliphs did not share the rule with them except by name (as figureheads). Syrian region and the Island was ruled by Bani Hamdan and the rulers of Egypt, Africa and the Maghreb were the Fatimids. And in their age there were great Shia scholars such as Shaikh Mufid, Sharif al Murtada and Syed al Radhi (ra), on top of that the extremism of the Buyids in propagating the establishment of Muharram's mourning ceremonies/rituals to the extent that on Ashura the markets of Baghdad would be closed and Muharram mourning ceremonies/rituals took place on the roads, despite this no one reports that anything such as injuring the heads with swords and its like took place in that period. (In the Risalah al Tanzih by Syed Muhsin al Amin)

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What is the origin of the ritual of Ashura? (part 11)

The author maintain that the Qizilbash had copied the flagellation (done in remembrance of Imam Husayn (as) with a slight influence from the Sufis) from the Armenian Christians who used to revere Jesus (as) in the same manner.

The earliest record of Christianity points the start of the flagellation in Italy (year 1260 AD) lead by the Franciscans. According to the author, there were over a hundred fraternities in Italy between the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries that practiced flagellation. At least one of the fraternities had between 500-600 memberships.

Flagellation in reverence of Christ and as a form of sharing his sufferings constituted an important ritual in the religious life of these fraternities, and this activity was believed to procure the salvation of those who engaged in it

The author suggested two ways in which these ceremonies could have spread among the Muslims

• When the Ottomans started invading territories in the Mediterranean and Aegean Sea in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
• War captives or locals transmitted the ritual to eastern Anatolia or the Caucasus (through trade).

What is the origin of the ritual of Ashura? (part 10)

Some elements from the Qizilbash group was discussed (footnote is pointing to this book)

The Qizilbash observed ecstatic rituals of dhikr and maintained a spirit and an organizational form similar to that of a fraternity. While Shi'i elements were predominant, Christian elements also played an important role in the Qizilbash doctrine. This was probably the result of the conversion of Armenians to Shi'i Islam by the Safavid shaykhs, as well as the presence of other Christian sects in eastern Anatolia and the Caucasus where the Qizilbash had originated.

Author quoted another lengthy narration of the Muharram rituals among the poorest segments of the Azerbaijan population (footnote is to the work by Ivar Lassy)

During Muharram they would gather in special halls, takkas (derived from takiya, a monastery of a sufi order). Using chain-scourges, and chanting scourge-elegies that emphasized the shedding of Husayn's blood, they scourged themselves rhythmically at a pace and vigor that accelerated like a dhikr. The self-scourging would cease only after the participants had collapsed.

The procession of the tenth of Muharram included another, more violent, form of flagellation. A group of self-mutilators dressed in white robes would stroke their clean-shaven heads with swords and daggers. The gashing of the heads took place amidst loud exclamations and the stimulating shouts of their leader. The extreme excitement of the self-mutilators was assisted by drummers and cymbalists who ran up and down between the rows of the self-mutilators, creating a deafening din with their instruments.

Please continue reading part 11.

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