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Abstract
Tahirih Qurrat al-ʿAyn has come to be seen as the first Iranian woman to openly advocate for the rights of women and the first feminist of her country. But it was among the women's avant-garde in Europe that she first gained the stature of a feminist heroine. Discussing five cases in five nations, this article will show how Tahirih became, across cultural borders, a source of inspiration to Europe's women avant-garde, especially throughout the second half of the long 19th century, and will suggest some reasons for the decline of public interest in the figure of Tahirih, especially in the period after the second world war.

This volume assembles contributions from different academic perspectives (religious and Islamic studies, literary and theatre studies, theology, sociology and history) on modern manifestations of martyrdom in the diverse Middle Eastern religious traditions, including Islam, Christianity, Judaism and the Baha'i-faith. The latter is considered in more detail since it is often not included in comparative studies on the monotheistic religions. An excursus into the farer East composes the contribution on Mahatma Ghandi. The volume considers central sociological, philosophical and theological problems which lie at the heart of the phenomenon of martyrdom, the significance of martyrdom in different conflicts, the competing martyr figures which develop in the course of these conflicts as well as the accompanying representations in art and ritual. Special attention is directed to the transitions of traditional forms of martyr representation and the emergence of a global discourse on martyrdom, which can be noticed both in the dissemination of martyr practices as in the reactions to certain martyr events on a global scale.