Identity at the Margins: Representations of the Yārsān in Modern Iran Restricted; Files Only

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the evolving identity of the Yārsān, a marginalized religious community, primarily living in the western Iran, by tracing the tension between external categorizations and internal self-representations. Using an interdisciplinary methodology that integrates textual analysis, cyber-ethnography, and historical inquiry, it examines how Orientalist scholarship, Iranian and Kurdish nationalist discourse, Shiʿite polemics, and internal reformists have shaped and reshaped understandings of the community. The dissertation is organized around five key themes, each forming the basis of a chapter. Chapter One interrogates the enduring classification of the Yārsān as a sect of Shiʿism, analyzing their depiction as ʿAlī-ullāhīs, mystical Shiʿites, or a deviant sect. Chapter Two turns to portrayals of the Yārsān as “heretics” or “Satan-worshippers,” while also tracing the reformist transformation of the Maktabī branch under Nurʿali Elahi into a rationalist, depoliticized spiritual movement. Chapter Three explores the framing of the Yārsān as an ethnic group, highlighting how Iranian and Kurdish nationalist ideologies selectively reinterpret Yārsān heritage to claim continuity with Zoroastrianism or pre-Islamic Iranian traditions. Chapter Four situates Yārsān identity in relation to political ecology, showing how their sacred texts’ veneration of nature has informed environmental activism and reforestation initiatives in the Zagros Mountains as expressions of cultural distinctiveness. Chapter Five investigates Yārsān self-identification as a counter-narrative, focusing on gender discourse, the symbolism of the mustache, and reinterpretations of sacred texts as strategies of renewal. By situating the Yārsān within broader state, religious, and nationalist frameworks, this study challenges essentialist accounts. It argues that Yārsān identity is not static but continuously negotiated through the interplay of marginalization, reinterpretation, and resistance.



Table of Contents

Introduction: Overview of Dissertation Topics         1

Chapter 1: Shi’ism or Not? Examining the Yārsān vis-à-vis the Islamic Worldview        38

Chapter 2: Constructing Heresy: The Imposition of Deviant Labels on the Yārsān        113

Chapter 3: Unfixed Boundaries: Ethnicity, Religion, and the Yārsān Question       155

Chapter 4: Environmentalism, Eco-Spirituality, and the Formation of Yārsān Identity       211

Chapter 5: The Yārsān and Their New Political Identity      254

Conclusion: Who are the Yārsān?      318

Bibliography      331

About this Dissertation

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School	Laney Graduate School
Department	Religion
Subfield / Discipline	West and South Asian Religions
Degree	Ph.D.
Submission	Dissertation
Language	English
Research Field	Religion, Comparative Religion, Philosophy of Middle Eastern Studies
Keyword	New-Old Religion Yārsān Identity Gurān Ahl-i Haqq Minority religion
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Cornell, Vincent, Emory University
Committee Members	Stewart, Devin, Emory University Hoesterey, James , Emory University Doostdar, Alireza, The University of Chicago

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