A Comparative Study of Power Discourse Representation in Early Written Sources of the Bábí Movement, with Special Reference to the 'Tawbah-Nāmih of the Báb' and the 'Declaration of the Iraqi 'Ulamā'' (1848–1906 AD)

Document Type : Original Article

Author

عضو هیئت علمی گروه تاریخ دانشگاه سیستان و بلوچستان

Abstract
This article presents a comparative study of the representation of the Bábí movement (1264–1268 AH / 1848–1852 AD) in eight early textual sources from the Qajar period, comprising four domestic chronicles (Tārīkh-i Naw, Nāsikh al-Tawārīkh, Ḥaqā'iq al-Akhbār, and Rawḍat al-Ṣafā-yi Nāṣirī) and four foreign travelogues and memoirs (Lady Sheil's Glimpses of Life and Manners in Persia, Carla Serena's travelogue, Dr. Fourier's memoirs, A. V. W. Jackson's Persia Past and Present, and E. G. Browne's A Year Amongst the Persians). In addition, two pivotal documents are examined: the "Repentance Statement of the Báb" issued during his trial in Tabriz (1266 AH / 1850 AD) and the "Joint Declaration of the Shi‘i and Sunni Scholars of Iraq" promulgated in Najaf (1260 AH / 1844 AD)-both of which epitomize the discursive articulation of hegemonic power.
Drawing upon an integrated analytical framework that combines Fairclough's three-dimensional model of critical discourse analysis (description, interpretation, and explanation) with Said's theory of Orientalism, this study unpacks the underlying mechanisms that shaped these representations. Through a systematic comparative analysis of lexical choices, metaphorical constructions, causal attributions, and legitimization strategies, the paper demonstrates that domestic sources-operating within the discursive matrix of Shi‘i-monarchist ideology and deploying the central signifiers of "sedition" (fitna), "infidelity" (kufr), and "heresy" (bid‘a)-constructed the Bábís as an existential threat to the religious-political order, thereby rendering their suppression not only necessary but divinely sanctioned. Conversely, while foreign accounts exhibit a broad spectrum of attitudes-ranging from intellectual sympathy to overt colonial condescension-they collectively remain ensnared within the Orientalist framework of "othering the East" and imposing Western conceptual categories (such as socialism, reformism, and heroic martyrdom) upon a distinctly indigenous religio-social phenomenon.

Keywords

Subjects
References
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  • Receive Date 28 April 2026
  • Revise Date 04 August 2026
  • Accept Date 09 September 2026