A Comparative Study of Abbasid Dawat Organization and Representation Organization of the Twelvers; Stages of Formation and Causes of Emergence

The Abbasid Dawat organization and the Representation Organization of the Twelvers were two secret organizations which were active in different regions of the Islamic territories. Shiite Imams, when alive, used to communicate with Shiites through the Representation Organization. The Abbasids, too, used emissaries to disseminate their ideas. An accurate historical judgment about the function of Shiite Imams and Shiites, and that of the Abbasids and their followers would be possible through a comparative analysis of these two organizations. The main question with which this paper concerned is: what are the differences and similarities between these two organizations with respect to the stages of formation and causes of emergence? The Abbasids were inheritors of Abu Hashim's Dawat Organization, while the Twelvers themselves established their own Representation Organization. Among the causes of emergence of these two organizations were the struggle to achieve their aims, suppression, the activities of the rivals, good paved grounds, necessity of communication with followers, and gathering finances.The difficulty of communication between Imam (A.S) and Shiites, and preparation for the occultation period were other causes of emergence of the Representation Organization.