Salvation in a Palace: Luxurious Representation of Political Spirituality in Iran

Abstract

The present study tries to answer this question: Why is the mausoleum of Imam Reza (a holy saint shrine) one of the most luxurious and expensive buildings in the world? By staying in Mashhad as a pilgrim, the researcher conducted 45 participatory and semi-structured interviews with pilgrims in two consecutive stages. For analysing the collected data, a qualitative research method was used based on Constructing Grounded Theory. The concept of ‘the politics of constructing spirituality’ as the core category referred to the fact that the main reasons for the luxury and magnificence of Imam Reza’s mausoleum in Iran, are as follows: the existence of political-religious discourse in Iran, trying to continue the process of political socialisation via pilgrimage, representation and induction of symbols of political spirituality, the bond between spiritual salvation, pilgrimage and political liberation.

Keywords

• political spirituality
• political islam
• sacred art
• hierophany
• constructing grounded theory