Abstract:This paper intends to examine religious ideology and discourse conventions of <em>majlis-e-</em>Hussain; i.e. the speech to commemorate the martyrdom of Hussain, the grandson of Prophet Mohammad; from...This paper intends to examine religious ideology and discourse conventions of <em>majlis-e-</em>Hussain; i.e. the speech to commemorate the martyrdom of Hussain, the grandson of Prophet Mohammad; from a critical discourse analysis (henceforth CDA) perspective. The analysis involves identification of multiple linguistic devices such as pronominalization, recontextualization, resemantisization, implicatures, interactional strategies and cohesive links; which serve to perpetuate the religious ideologies in Shi‘ah Muslims of Pakistan. In this way, this paper makes an attempt to highlight the way <em>majlis</em> discourse delegitimizes and deconstructs sectarian prejudice still prevalent in Pakistani society; and hence argues for a broader interpretation of <em>majlis</em>-e-Hussain than merely associating it with Moharram mourning rituals.Read More