The Shīʻite Movement in Iraq


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Table of contents




The Shi'a of Lebanon


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The Shi'a of Lebanon have emerged in the last 30 years to become a major force in Lebanese politics, having previously long been a marginalised political community. Here, Rodger Shanahan examines the reasons behind this transformation from a largely rural population dominated by a handful of elite families, to an assertive sectarian force whose new-found power is exemplified by the emergence and influence of Shi'i political parties, most notably Hezbollah. In this unique and perceptive study, Shanahan explores the development of the Shi'i community from the imposition of French mandatory rule, through independence and the bloody civil war of the 1970s and 1980s to the withdrawal of Israeli forces from South Lebanon in 2000. Here, for the first time in paperback, Shanahan also examines the more recent controversies and crises of the 2006 War with Israel and the death of Ayatollah Muhammad Fadlallah.




The Shi'is of Iraq


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The Shi'is of Iraq provides a comprehensive history of Iraq's majority group and its turbulent relations with the ruling Sunni minority. Yitzhak Nakash challenges the widely held belief that Shi'i society and politics in Iraq are a reflection of Iranian Shi'ism, pointing to the strong Arab attributes of Iraqi Shi'ism. He contends that behind the power struggle in Iraq between Arab Sunnis and Shi'is there exist two sectarian groups that are quite similar. The tension fueling the sectarian problem between Sunnis and Shi'is is political rather than ethnic or cultural, and it reflects the competition of the two groups over the right to rule and to define the meaning of nationalism in Iraq. A new introduction brings this book into the new century and illuminates the role that Shi`is could play in postwar Iraq.




The Shiʻis of Saudi Arabia


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"The Shi'is of Saudi Arabia offers a comprehensive overview of the evolution of Shi'i opposition in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, from the Iranian Revolution in 1979 to the ascension of King Abdullah to the throne in 2005."--BOOK JACKET.




Covering the Shi`a


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Often demonized by the Western media and press, Hezbollah’s origins are rooted in activities of the Lebanese Shi`a in the late 1970s and early 80s. Covering the Shi`a: English Press Representation of the Lebanese Shi`a 1975-1985 chronicles how the English-language press and media represented the most consequential group in Lebanon to Western audiences during the critical period of 1975-1985. Focusing on three of the most prominent English-language newspapers at that time, the book outlines how the Western media frequently disregarded the Shi`i civil rights movement in Lebanon. Conflating that movement with other Arab independence campaigns, the Western media missed key aspects and the dynamics at work in the Lebanese Shi`i community. Additionally, in failing to understand and report the nature of the transnational networks that supported the Shi`i community in Lebanon, the resultant news narrative reported in the English-language media was at odds with the narratives harbored by the Lebanese Shi`a themselves. In order to gain an understanding of the operations of Lebanese Hezbollah today, and the current media coverage of the organization, this book offers insights on the origins of Shi`a resistance and how one can evaluate the group today.




The Struggle of the Shi‘is in Indonesia


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The Struggle of the Shi‘is in Indonesia is a pioneering work. It is the first comprehensive scholarly examination in English of the development of Shiism in Indonesia. It focuses primarily on the important period between 1979 and 2004 – a period of nearly a quarter of a century that saw the notable dissemination of Shi’i ideas and a considerable expansion of the number of Shi’i adherents in Indonesia. Since Islam in Indonesia is overwhelmingly Sunni, this development of Shiism in a predominantly Sunni context is a remarkable phenomenon that calls for careful, critical investigation. There is also an important examination of the principal ideas underlying the Madhab Ahl al-Bayt, the Imamate and Imam Madhi, Ja‘fari jurisprudence and ritual piety. Appropriately, in his discussion, Zulkifli provides a succinct outline of contrasts with Sunni ideas and practice. He also examines the publishing efforts that underpinned the dissemination of Shi’i ideas and the founding of IJABI (Ikatan Jamaah Ahlul Bait Indonesia) in July 2000 for the propagation of Ahl al-Bayt teachings. Given the Indonesian context, Zulkifli is also concerned with Sunni reactions to these Shi’i developments – a story that continues to unfold to the present. This book as a work of great value and significance for the continuing understanding of the richness and complexity of Indonesian Islam.




Shi


Book Description

Ana Ishikawa returns to her native Japan where she desperately tries to avert an all out war between the secretive sects of the Kyoto and Nara Sohei. And with the Narans of the verge of annihilation, the Kyoto Sohei are about to rub it in -- with the encouragement of the Yakuza and with potentially disastrous consequences. Once again, Ana in the guise of Death Incarnate, will take up the naginata and don her grandfather's Kabuki face paint in order to save both cities, even if it means turning to her father's murderer Masahiro Arashi to do so.




Shi'ism


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For a Western world anxious to understand Islam and, in particular, ShiÕism, this book arrives with urgently needed information and critical analysis. Hamid Dabashi exposes the soul of ShiÕism as a religion of protestÑsuccessful only when in a warring position, and losing its legitimacy when in power. Dabashi makes his case through a detailed discussion of the ShiÕi doctrinal foundations, a panoramic view of its historical unfolding, a varied investigation into its visual and performing arts, and finally a focus on the three major sites of its contemporary contestations: Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon. In these states, ShiÕism seems to have ceased to be a sect within the larger context of Islam and has instead emerged to claim global political attention. Here we see ShiÕism in its combative modeÑreminiscent of its traumatic birth in early Islamic history. Hezbollah in Lebanon claims ShiÕism, as do the militant insurgents in Iraq, the ruling Ayatollahs in Iran, and the masses of youthful demonstrators rebelling against their reign. All declare their active loyalties to a religion of protest that has defined them and their ancestry for almost fourteen hundred years. ShiÕsm: A Religion of Protest attends to the explosive conflicts in the Middle East with an abiding attention to historical facts, cultural forces, religious convictions, literary and artistic nuances, and metaphysical details. This timely book offers readers a bravely intelligent history of a world religion.




The Shiʻa Worlds and Iran


Book Description

A meticulously researched volume that presents the Shi'a worlds in all their complexities.