Karbala in London: Genealogy and Continuity of Contested Expressions of Muharrum Rituals among British South Asian Twelver Shia Muslims’ by Dr Sufyan Abid Dogra

The roots of the power struggle over authority and recognition among various factions of Twelver Shias of South Asian background living in London revolves around the idea of how the ‘true and authentic’ Shia Islam is practised through Ashura Rituals. The theological and political genealogy of this struggle can be traced by examining the history of Shia Islam in South Asia and by analysing the migration of Shia Muslims from India to Pakistan during 1947 partition of sub-continent, and subsequent migration to Britain from South Asia. This seminar will present the historical analysis and ethnographic accounts on Shia Islam and how it is practised in London. The influence of London based Iranian and Iraqi Shia transnational networks are vital to understand in order to approach the internal groupings of adherents in London based South Asian Hussanias. While some South Asian origin Shias confirm to the Iran-backed reformist versions of globally standardised ritual commemoration of Ashura, others detest this and search for religious reinterpretations that may legitimise their South Asian ways of commemorating the Ashura ritual.