I contributed a chapter on music, sound, and funeral rituals to Decolonising Death Studies, edited by Panagiotis Pentaris, Stacey Pitsillides, and Hajar Ghorbani. The chapter developed from ethnographic research conducted with Hajar Ghorbani in Iranian cemeteries, particularly Behesht-e Zahra in Tehran, as well as observations undertaken between 2014 and 2019, interviews conducted in 2024 and 2025, and my own lived experience in Iran.
The research examines the sonic dimensions of Shia Islamic funeral rituals in urban Iran. A central focus of the chapter is the gradual shift from religious vocal forms, particularly maddahi, toward secular music and instrumental accompaniment in some funeral settings. Drawing on Jürgen Habermas’s theory of the lifeworld and system, together with Michael Frishkopf’s affective extension of this framework, I argue that these changing sonic practices can challenge the state’s dominance over the lifeworld. They also point to an affective reconfiguration of the lifeworld itself, as meanings and values surrounding death and mourning shift from predominantly religious forms toward more secular ones. In this way, the chapter contributes to the decolonization of death studies by grounding its analysis in locally situated Iranian practices and experiences.