Iconic figures are often rediscovered and revalued, becoming role models that shape present and future. Such practices inevitably involve inclusion and appropriation while producing otherness. However, constructions of the past not only celebrate icons and role models but also reject those deemed undesirable. The conference aimed to critically examine these processes from a transregional perspective and to debate the notion of the "iconic figure" as an analytical tool. The discussions explored practices of constructing icons, the role of visuality and media, the relationship between mythological and historical truths, the intersection of iconicity and authority, and ideas of social justice and emotional aspects. Participants scrutinized the theme of construction, deconstruction, and functioning of iconic figures as role models in specific historical contexts, from early modern Europe, postcolonial India to contemporary Lebanon, Indonesia, Nigeria, Russia, Ukraine. This report presents the contributions of the conference and its key themes.
At the start of the conference, the papers presented were focused on Muslim leaders, thinkers, and intellectuals, both secular and religious, who were actively involved in political struggles. OMAR BORTOLAZZI’s (Dubai) work focused on the link between radical political change and charismatic leadership in Shiite Lebanon, using the case study of Musa al-Sadr (1928–1978) as a representative figure of the new type of religious-political leadership that led to the decline of the traditional zu‘ama order. Al-Sadr founded and led the harakat al-mahrumeen movement, which aimed to protest poverty and deprivation among the Shi‘a in Southern Lebanon. Bortolazzi outlined the consequences of al-Sadr's actions, including enabling the voice of a disenfranchised community. He also explored the aftermath of al-Sadr's disappearance in 1978, the continuation of Amal as a flexible socio-political tool of the Shiite establishment, and al-Sadr's role in the contemporary Shi'a religious-political discourse.
Continuing, PHILIPP BRUCKMAYR (Vienna) discussed Elijah Muhammad (1897-1975), the founder of the Nation of Islam (NOI), and his role in the debate among competing African American movements. After his death, reassessments of Muhammad had an impact on institutional formations, ranging from rejecting his prophetic status to defending his racialist theology and claims of prophethood. This discourse on his legacy was reframed in many differing ways, all in the quest for religious legitimacy and identity construction in the contested sphere of African American Islam. Bruckmayr highlighted the debate around Elijah Muhammad during and after his lifetime, be it critique or praise, as a key factor in the history of the spread of Islam into new environments.
DANLADI ABAH (Anyigba) explored the emergence, diffusion, radicalization, and weaponization of Shia Islamic Sect members in Northern Nigeria through the study of Ibraheem Yaqoub El-Zakzaky (born 1953) – iconic figure, leader, and promoter of Shia Islam in the region. Abah examined the socio-historical, political, and religious factors underlying this phenomenon, using El-Zakzaky's materiality, positionality, and temporality to show his nuanced role as a saint and warrior in a Sunni-dominated landscape. Abah argued that state repression against El-Zakzaky and other religious figures failed to de-escalate tensions and instead intensified them. The rapid rise and canonization of El-Zakzaky can be attributed to weak leadership and institutions in Nigeria, as well as strong external factors such as the Iranian government and non-governmental Shia institutions.
DEEPRA DANDEKAR (Mannheim) discussed Hamid Dalwai, a Marathi-speaking Muslim Indian reformer who played a significant role in forming the Muslim Satyashodhak Mandal (Muslim Truth-Seeking Society) in 1970. Dalwai's legacy is mediated and appropriated in different ways, as he embodied different personas including a rationalist secularist, an Indian nationalist, a Muslim activist, and a journalist. Dandekar argued that Dalwai's secular rationalism and revolutionary ideas occupied an important third-space, disinvested from the two-nation and two-civilization theory upheld in his time and still holding significance today.
The conference then shifted to texts, images and narratives related to iconic figures, providing insights into the complex and multifaceted nature of the narratives that contribute to the construction of iconic figures and legitimacy. ISMAIL HASHIM ABUBAKAR (Rabat) analysed a sermon by Shaykh Ja'far Mahmud Adam (1960–2007), a famous Nigerian Muslim cleric, highly regarded as a scholar many years after his assassination, to explore its role in promoting peace during a time of societal crises. Abubakar argued that the seemingly harsh language in the sermon, actually, advocated for peace by containing potential reprisal attacks against Nigerians who shared affiliations with primary oppressors and antagonists. The sermon positioned Ja'far as a defender of Islam and appealed to a return to moral purity. This research is unique as no previous academic study has focused on this specific sermon.
PAVEL BASHARIN (Moscow) analyzed the various images of the controversial Sufi master al-Hallaj, who was executed in 922. Some Sufis honor him, others accuse him of heresy; recognised as a Sufi by some, by others – dubbed Ibn Manṣūr, a heretic and a Qarmaṭī. His ideas were related to the ancient tradition and his figure has interested the intellectual public, leading to his cult being established among Persian Sufis, as well as in Turkey, India, and Malaysia. Basharin traced the image of al-Hallaj crucified and its influence on later depictions of the scene, which even attracted Christian followers. Further analysis of this intersection is necessary.
ELENA MANCHADO RODRÍGUEZ (Madrid) looked at the phenomenon of colonial sanctity through the story of eight little-known saintly women of noble Japanese descent who founded a beaterio in Kyoto in 1600. The women's image was appropriated and reinterpreted for various imperial narratives, and their story was used in Jesuit missionary literature. Rodriguez analysed this process through beatas’ hagiographies and stressed the importance of actors in incorporating the narrative for proselytizing and propagandistic interests.
KATHARINA NEEF (Leipzig) explored icons of secularism through Organized Freethought, a transnational social player in the 19th century. She analysed the freethinkers' attempts to ground their movement in a historical and genealogical context, positioning themselves as part of a long history of secularization and church criticism. Neef examined the process of constructing a genealogy of secularism and concluded that the production of a genealogical connection relied on discursive means, with texts being used to construct a sense of belonging and relevance.
The third group of presentations focused on the theme of iconization through mythification, exploring how figures and movements can become iconic through the creation and perpetuation of myths, messianic narratives, relationship between truths. By examining the ways in which myths contribute to the construction of icons, we can gain a deeper understanding of the complex process.
MARC TABANI (Marseille) examined the syncretic and messianic image of John Frum, a supernatural figure whose prophecies gave rise to an indigenous social protest movement on the island of Tanna, Vanuatu during the Second World War, which persists to this day. He explored the involvement of foreign actors in constructing the John Frum movement as a mysterious South Pacific "cargo cult" due to primitivist perceptions in Western popular culture and media coverage. Tabani drew on anthropologist Marshall Sahlins' stranger-king hypotheses to re-examine Western narratives of stranger-kings and analyse the indigenous origins of this myth while considering the history of actors associated with John Frum or who attempted to personify and embody this spirit.
Kyai Muhammad Kholil of Bangkalan of Madura was looked at by YANWAR PRIBADI (Jakarta) to understand how iconic figures intersect the religious, social, and political realms. Kholil is considered a saint and an Islamic religious leader by many Muslim communities in Indonesia. Pribadi inquired how and why Kholil ascended to his iconic status and how politicians have used their association with him to gain election victories. Kholil is still revered by the ummah and valued by various communities seeking to advance their agendas: the ʿulamā', and social, economic, and political agents.
A presentation that assists in building a theoretical framework on iconization and personality cult production is one by KATARZYNA JAROSZ (Wrocław) who discussed the relationship between personality cults and the iconization of a figure, focusing on post-Soviet countries. She linked personality cults to national identity and identified the creation of such cults through ethnic nationalism (common ancestry), and rediscovery of national heroes. These cults can reach religious dimensions and are especially viable after long periods of colonization. Jarosz distinguished several characteristics of personality cults, including artifacts, function, and mechanism. These patterns of cult creation can be applied in different contexts where politics and religion intersect.
The following works presented in the conference focus on the role of icons in political crises and conflicts, particularly those that have a religious dimension. They assess how icons are utilized in such contexts and the impact they have on political struggles.
OLEKANDR SVYETLOV (Charkiv / Belfast) investigated the role of Andriy Sheptytsky (b.1865–d.1944), the Metropolit (1901–1944) of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church and explored his role as a leading, iconic figure of “national emancipation” in times of historical ruptures. Svyetlov portrayed Sheptytsky as an inter-ethnic, inter-religious and inter-cultural broker and discussed his symbolic role. He then asked how his legacies are evaluated and instrumentalised today by various groups of society in Ukraine as well as on an international scale.
PRERNA AGARWAL (Göttingen) discussed the production of iconic socialist figures in postcolonial states through the case of George Fernandes, a labour leader and the pro-poor statesmen who gained iconic status. While Fernandes led the 1974 railway strike, which has been erased from mainstream memory, he is remembered by civil society and the ruling elite, revealing interesting tendencies of historical narratives in postcolonial India. Agarwal notes the paradoxical remembrance of Fernandes as a working-class hero and the erasure of the railway strike, suggesting parallel subaltern memories at play in relation to "national memories".
MUHAMMAD ANEES (Hyderabad) explored how images of Variamkunnath Kunjahammad Haji (1883–1922), known as Variamkunnan, are reinvented in contemporary India amidst growing Hindu nationalism and struggles over memory. Variamkunnan was a prominent leader in the anti-colonial movement in Malabar but is now accused of leading an anti-Hindu movement due to his association with the Khilafat movement. The Indian Council of Historical Research has even considered removing his name from 'The Dictionary of Martyrs, India’s Freedom Struggle from 1857 to 1947'.
To conclude, the discussion in the panels centred on processes of iconization, which often involve figures that disrupt established social norms and practices. The participants emphasized the need to consider iconization as an intersection of ideas and practices, shaped by the interests and actions of the actors involved. Furthermore, the conference highlighted the importance of considering our positionality as researchers when examining icons to avoid reproducing myths and perpetuating certain narratives. The case studies presented in the conference and the discussions that followed contributed to the development of a conceptual framework that highlights the criteria and aspects that should be considered in the study of iconization. These criteria include materialities such as the role of images, monuments, and narrative dimensions, as well as the figure/personality of the icon, their ability to challenge structures and emotional energies, and their contested and controversial natures during lifetime. The psychology of the masses also plays a role in this – what role the icon plays in relation to them personally. Lastly, the context is crucial. This includes practices of forgetting, constructing and deconstructing, as well as the memory and de-memory of a historical figure. It furthermore touches ideas of social justice and legitimization becoming relevant in times of crisis vis á vis challenges and quest for change – In what context does an iconic figure become a symbol? Who needs and makes the icon?
Furthermore, this conference explored the intersection of religious and secular narratives in knowledge production, identity formation, and belonging from a transregional and transtemporal perspective. Iconic figures were found to serve as symbols of the present, role models for the future, and bearers of witness to the past. However, the process of iconization can blur the boundaries between reality and myth, sacralize secular figures, or turn religious figures into "history." Overall, the conference provided valuable insights into the process of iconization, highlighting the political nature of the process, the various factors that contribute to it, and the importance of context, materiality, and positionality in studying iconic figures.
Conference overview:
Omar Bortolazzi (Dubai): The Charismatic Leader Imam Musa al-Sadr and the Mobilisation of the Lebanese Shi‘a Community
Philipp Bruckmayr (Vienna): Debating a Controversial American Icon: African American Muslim Movements and the Figure of Elijah Muhammad
Danladi Abah (Anyigba): Ibraheem Yaqoub El-Zakzaky: Shia Islam, Society and the Rise of Iconic Figure in Contemporary Northern Nigeria
Deepra Dandekar (Mannheim): Hamid Dalwai: Third-Space Muslim Secular Activism in India
Katarzyna Jarosz (Wrocław): Personality Cults as a Form of New Religion
Ismail Hashim Abubakar (Rabat): Abu al-Hasan al-Ashari and Dialectal Theology: A Binary Religious Figure for Salafi and Ash'ari Theological Schools
Pavel Basharin (Moscow): The Many Faces of al-Ḥallāj
Katharina Neef (Leipzig): Icons of Secularism. How European freethought gathered around a canon
Marc Tabani (Marseille): Personifications of a Prophecy: Strangers as Cargo Cult Leaders in Tanna (Vanuatu)
Elena Manchado Rodríguez (Madrid): The Beatas of Kyoto and their Hagiographies: Elaboration and Transatlantic Circulation of a Sainthood Ideal (XVII–XVIII)
Yanwar Pribadi (Jakarta): Kyai Kholil of Bangkalan, Madura, Indonesia: Saint for the Ummah, Guru for ʿUlamā', and Symbol of Riding the Coattails for Politicians
Aleksandr Svyetlov (Charkiv / Belfast): Leading Figures of “National Emancipation” in Times of Historical Ruptures: Almost Iconic? A Case Study
Prerna Agarwal (Göttingen): Men of Socialism: George Fernandes and Icons of Socialism in India’s Postcolonial History
Muhammed Anees (Hyderabad): Reinventing Images of Variamkunnan: Politics of Memory and Patriotism in Contemporary India