De-culturation and In-culturation of Shiʿism

Abstract

Traditionalism as a pathway for conversion to Shiʿism presents both opportunities and challenges for newcomers. It seeks to diminish disparities among religions by highlighting the enduring transcendental essence that unites all of them. Consequently, religious mobility does not appear as a complete rupture with the convert’s past; instead, this transition enhances their identity rather than annihilating it. The choice of Islamic names serves as a strategy to underscore continuity in the convert’s life history. Converts often provide compelling reasons for their selection of Islamic names, reflecting their attempts at self-preservation against abrupt changes. Another strategy for self-preservation involves addressing the less desirable aspects of Shiʿism, often associated with migrant Shiʿa communities. This is where the challenging dimension of Traditionalism becomes evident. How can the modern and Western identity of the convert be reconciled with their attraction to an exoteric form of the Tradition that originates from the Global South? If the convert has embraced Shiʿism as a refuge against the hardships of the modern world, how should they handle the “backward” practices that Shiʿa migrants bring with them to Italy?

One solution to this dilemma is to create a container in which the undesirable elements of the religion can be deposited to protect the core of the faith. This container is often referred to as “culture”. It encompasses human-made, mutable, and secular beliefs and behaviors, which can be easily subject to criticism, alteration, or elimination. This container safeguards the integrity of the religion. Both Guénon and Evola held a disdain for cultures and customs as worldly and mutable things. Therefore, converts engage in a process of de-culturing and in-culturing Shiʿism by incorporating their own habits, languages, and ways of being Shiʿa while eliminating troublesome elements of the religion.

However, tensions may inevitably arise in a specific area of culture, namely women and family affairs, which constitute the “hard core” of Muslim culture. Even in the diaspora context, those born into Islamic cultures may be resistant to changes in this fundamental aspect of their culture. Consequently, their behaviors may clash with prevailing Italian cultural values. To address this issue, converts attribute unacceptable behaviors and episodes to the “culture” of migrant Shiʿas.

Converts, being aware of the vulnerability of Shiʿism in the Western context, exercise caution in shaping the public image of their new religion. They often abstain from participating in public initiatives organized by Shiʿa-born individuals that they perceive as detrimental to the Shiʿa community’s image. They do not readily entrust the leadership of the community to Shiʿa-born individuals for various reasons. Converts have linguistic competence, political protection, and cultural modernity. They are attuned to the cultural sensitivities of Italians and possess the necessary tools to engage with non-Muslim Italians. Consequently, they resist being led and represented by Shiʿa-born individuals, converts to Sunni Islam, or Sunni migrants.

Instead of blending into the anonymous masses of mourners in religious processions, converts prefer avenues such as publications and activism to assert their subjectivity and individual values. They present themselves as representatives of the Shiʿa community in interactions with Italian authorities, a role they undertake in the absence of an active second generation of Shiʿa-born individuals who could have bridged the gap between Shiʿa communities and the host society.