IRANIAN SHIITES TURN TO THE PERSIAN VERSION OF TAI’CHI
The BBC reports on the rebirth of an ancient, semi-mystical, Persian martial art among Iranian men called varzesh-e pahlavani. While I’m not an expert on either martial arts or Shiite Islam one is struck by the similarity to the meditative aspect of Tai’Chi, Yoga and Eastern martial arts. I would wager here that Sufism has been an influence but perhaps I am wrong. perhaps Juan Cole could shed some light on this story.
