Politics, religion, urban mobilization and violence in Iran in XVIII-XXI centuries: cases of study

The essay investigates the interaction of three different dimensions (urban mobilizations, violence, and the political and religious authorities), focusing on "male congregations" of the Iranian cities from the XVIII century up to the XXI century. These congregations, known Lutism and appealing to the ethic of javanmard - a sort of chivalry -, were similar to the phenomenon of the "urban bands or factions" present in European cities too. The article analyses three case studies: the competition between the nemati e haydari sects (XVII to XVIII century), an example of the similarities between the Iranian and European urban bands’ conflicts; the struggle between constitutionalist and royalist factions in the city of Tabriz between 1907 and 1911, evidencing the political exploitation of the rivalries by the local political élite; and the 1791 assassination of the sufi Mushtaq ali-Shah in the city of Kerman by the city’s population, instigated by the religious authority. The final part of the essays proposes a comparison with the repression of the 2009 demonstrations, which has been carried out - it is denounced - with the help of "bands" possibly associated to the luti.

Keywords: <i>Javanmardi</i> Urban mobilization Political and religious violence

Alessandro Cancian, Politica, religione, mobilitazione urbana e violenza in Iran nei secoli XVIII-XXI: casi di studio in "STORIA URBANA " 131/2011, pp 53-70, DOI: 10.3280/SU2011-131004