Cultural Methodology of Inviting and Attracting Obedience in the Ashura Uprising

This study, by analyzing and comparing the historical propositions in the ancient sources, investigates this research question: in the uprising of Imam Hussein, what methods were used to invite and attract the public obedience? Based on the findings of the present study, the proponents of this uprising (whether Imam Hussein (AS) or followers and commanders) aimed to create an attitude, re-explain the position of the Imam in the community, represent the illegitimacy of the Yazid government in religious culture, and reveal the value aspect of the uprising. These methods have been implemented with three tools of reasoning, repetition, and creating cognitive inconsistency and explaining contradictions. Also, in this uprising, the tendency was created and the invaders of the uprising followed the tendency towards the Imam based on eternal interests, the inclination towards martyrdom based on the value of jihad, and warning about the harms of disobedience and not confronting the Imam. As a result, it was found that the Ashura uprising was a comprehensive movement in the field of religion, politics, and society that created a kind of post-age culture as a standard culture and its invitation was organized in the two methods of attitude and tendency towards the diversity of audiences. Its invitation has been organized in two maximum layers in accompanying the Ashura uprising or the minimum in not accompanying the enemies of the uprising.

Throughout history, the leaders of uprisings and political and social movements in different parts of the world have tried to build a nation or a group to achieve their overt and covert aspirations, and rely on the demographic body to establish an established system. In the history of Islam, too, the initial plan of any uprising or movement has been the subject of ‘invitation’. At the beginning of the caliphate, Yazid, contrary to his father's advice, sought allegiance from three prominent figures in Medina, headed by Imam Hussein (AS). This action paved the way for the Imam to leave Medina and then turned into a full-blown uprising. Irrespective of the type of uprising and the goals of the movement of the martyrs, what is raised as a research issue is the question that in the cultural approach, the Imam and his companions in the uprising, what method did they use to invite and attract the obedience of the people? The present study looks at the methodology and how the Ashura uprising is in a specific cultural approach.

The type of research is cultural-intellectual in the social dimension. The present study deals with the uprising from a cultural perspective. The premise of the research is that in Hosseini’s uprising, both the perceptual and emotional power of the audience was taken into consideration, and in his uprising, there were two general types of invitation to attract obedience: attitude building and tendency building. Discussion of Results and

Knowing the dimensions of the method of invitation in the movement of Sayyid al-Shuhada, the Ashura uprising is not considered a purely political and military movement. Rather, its proponents have organized a comprehensive movement in the field of religion, politics, and society to create a post-modern standard culture based on the elements of logic, rationality, as well as emotions and feelings. In his uprising, the Imam cleverly intended to think and create an attitude in accordance with pure Islam in the mentality of the contemporary society and future societies. The existence of two factors of attitude and tendency in the minds and hearts of the Imam's strong and stable companions on the one hand, and the conditions imposed by the enemy, turned this uprising into an oppressed trans-historical epic. However, the structure of the uprising was based on two intellectual and emotional pillars. The leader of the Ashura uprising had detailed cultural planning for the society of his time, which at the same time presented it as a practical model to the next generations of human society. Although attitude and orientation are pursued in parallel in the process of invitation, intellectual and attitude attraction is more important than and emotional attraction. Finally, the variety of methods of invitation in the Ashura uprising reminds the subject of ‘audience studies’, which is understandable and necessary in any cultural and religious program, including educational, propaganda, promotion, and media. In this regard, efforts are made to absorb a part of the body of the society.