Abstract
Social traditions have been recognized as significant factors in the advancement or decline of societies. According to Agnew’s General Strain Theory, certain elements within society exert pressure on some individuals, compelling them toward deviant behavior. In this regard, the tradition-oriented society of the Qajar period, which valued goals such as family honor, wealth, and adherence to religious norms, simultaneously maintained a rigid class structure, widespread illiteracy, and pervasive poverty. These conditions restricted—or, at times, rendered impossible—the achievement of such goals through legitimate means, resulting in social offenses such as bribery, theft, and similar forms of misconduct.The central question, therefore, is: what role did the social traditions and customs of Iranian society during the Qajar era play in the emergence of social crimes across various social domains? This study seeks to investigate the impact of selected social traditions and customs on cultural and social harms, drawing upon primary sources and recent research within a descriptive-analytical framework. An examination of traditions related to religious rituals, education, social classes, the position of men and women within the family, marriage, and divorce reveals that, despite certain positive outcomes, these traditions in some cases contributed to the emergence of social and cultural problems.
Keywords: Social tradition, social crime, Qajar period, polygamy, patriarchy.
Introduction
Social traditions are derived from and grounded in both voluntary and involuntary layers of beliefs, convictions, bodies of knowledge and skills, national and social identity, and even myths and superstitions. Nevertheless, traditions themselves act as causal agents in the emergence and manifestation of social behaviors and beliefs. Examining the weaknesses inherent in a society’s social traditions can serve as a key pathway to resolving numerous issues across various domains. This is because social traditions, by virtue of their communal nature, proliferate rapidly, are easily transmitted from one generation to another, and, most significantly, endow even undesirable or destructive beliefs and behaviors with a degree of legitimacy if they become socially accepted as tradition—thus rendering them valuable or, at the very least, socially tolerated.
Materials and Methods
The present research is a historical study based on primary and authentic sources of social history, travelogues from the Qajar period, and recent studies, employing a descriptive and analytical approach to examine the role of traditions and social customs in the emergence of cultural and social harms.
Discussion and Results
This study employs Agnew’s General Strain Theory (1995), which posits that psychosocial strain pressures individuals toward delinquency. These strains generate negative emotions motivating delinquent behavior as a method of stress alleviation.
Conclusion
Qajar-era Iranian social traditions, while functional, sometimes fostered deviance. Practices like the sanctification of society attracted unscrupulous profiteers. Furthermore, the pervasive reliance on domestic servitude and patriarchal structures severely constrained social mobility. The disregard for servant dignity discouraged education among the lower classes. Critically, patriarchal norms in the family diminished the status of women, whose marital choices were often overridden, leading to early marriage and moral detriments for the youth.