Author: Scharbrodt Oliver Scharbrodt
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
ISBN: 1474430406
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 391
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Book Description
Global migrations flows in the 20th century have seen the emergence of Muslim diaspora and minority communities in Europe, North America and other parts of the world. While there is a growing body of research on Muslim minorities in various regional contexts, the particular experiences of Shi'a Muslim minorities across the globe has only received scant attention.This book offers new comparative perspectives of Shi'a minorities outside of the so-called 'Muslim heartland' (the Middle East, North Africa, Central and South Asia). It includes contributions on Shi'a minority communities in Europe, North and South America, Sub-Saharan Africa and East Asia that emerged out of migration from the Middle East and South Asia in the 20th and 21st centuries in particular. As a 'minority within a minority', Shi'a Muslims face the double challenge of maintaining as Islamic as well as a particular Shi'a identity in terms of communal activities and practices, public perception and recognition.
Author: Oliver Scharbrodt
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
ISBN: 1474430392
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 344
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Book Description
Global migration flows in the 20th century have seen the emergence of Muslim diaspora and minority communities in Europe, North America and other parts of the world. This book offers a set of new comparative perspectives on the experiences of Shi'a Muslim minorities outside the so-called Muslim heartland (Middle East, North Africa, Central and South Asia). It looks at Shiʻa minority communities in Europe, North and South America, Sub-Saharan Africa and East Asia and discusses the particular challenges these communities face as "a minority within a minority"--
Author: Laurence Louër
Publisher: Hurst Publishers
ISBN: 1849042144
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 343
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Book Description
This book illuminates the historical origins and present situation of militant Shia transnational networks by focusing on three key countries in the Gulf, Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, whose Shia Islamic groups are the offspring of Iraqi movements. The reshaping of the area's geopolitics after the Gulf War and the fall of Saddam Hussein in April 2003 have had a profound impact on transnational Shiite networks, pushing them to focus on national issues in the context of new political opportunities. For example, from being fierce opponents of the Saudi monarchy, Saudi Shiite militants have tended to become upholders of the Al-Sa'ud dynasty.The question remains, however, how deeply in society have these new beliefs taken root? Can Shiites be Saudi or Bahraini patriots? Louer concludes her book by analysing the transformation of the Shia' movements' relation to central religious authority, the marja', who reside either in Iraq and Iran. This is all the more problematic when the marja' is also the head of a state, as with Ali Khamenei of Iran, who has many followers in Bahrain and Kuwait.
Author: Andreas Rieck
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190240962
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 566
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Book Description
As sectarian violence spirals alarmingly in Pakistan the need for a rigorous history of its Shia population is met by Rieck's definitive account.
Author: Laurence Louër
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691234507
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 236
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Book Description
A compelling history of the ancient schism that continues to divide the Islamic world When Muhammad died in 632 without a male heir, Sunnis contended that the choice of a successor should fall to his closest companions, but Shi'a believed that God had inspired the Prophet to appoint his cousin and son-in-law, Ali, as leader. So began a schism that is nearly as old as Islam itself. Laurence Louër tells the story of this ancient rivalry, taking readers from the last days of Muhammad to the political and doctrinal clashes of Sunnis and Shi'a today. In a sweeping historical narrative spanning the Islamic world, Louër shows how the Sunni-Shi'a divide was never just a dispute over succession—at issue are questions about the very nature of Islamic political authority. She challenges the widespread perception of Sunnis and Shi'a as bitter enemies who are perpetually at war with each other, demonstrating how they have coexisted peacefully at various periods throughout the history of Islam. Louër traces how sectarian tensions have been inflamed or calmed depending on the political contingencies of the moment, whether to consolidate the rule of elites, assert clerical control over the state, or defy the powers that be. Timely and provocative, Sunnis and Shi'a provides needed perspective on the historical roots of today's conflicts and reveals how both branches of Islam have influenced and emulated each other in unexpected ways. This compelling and accessible book also examines the diverse regional contexts of the Sunni-Shi'a divide, examining how it has shaped societies and politics in countries such as Iraq, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Yemen, and Lebanon.
Author: Yitzhak Nakash
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400841461
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 247
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Book Description
As the world focuses on the conflict in Iraq, the most important political players in that country today are not the Sunni insurgents. Instead, they are Iraq's Shi'I majority--part of the Middle East's ninety million Shi'I Muslims who hold the key to the future of the region and the relations between Muslim and Western societies. So contends Yitzhak Nakash, one of the world's foremost experts on Shi'ism. With his characteristic verve and style, Nakash traces the role of the Shi'is in the struggle that is raging today among Muslims for the soul of Islam. He shows that in contrast to the growing militancy among Sunni groups since the 1990s, Shi'is have shifted their focus from confrontation to accommodation with the West. Constituting sixty percent of the population of Iraq, they stand squarely at the center of the U.S government's attempt to remake the Middle East and bring democracy to the region. This groundbreaking book addresses the crucial importance of Shi'is to the U.S. endeavor. Yet it also alerts readers to the strong nationalist sentiments of Shi'is, underscoring the difficult challenge that the United States faces in attempting to impose a new order in the Middle East. The book provides a comprehensive historical perspective on Shi'ism, beginning with the emergence of the movement during the seventh century, continuing through its rise as a political force since the Iranian Islamic Revolution of 1978-79, and leading up to the Iraqi elections of January 2005. Drawing extensively on Arabic sources, this comparative study highlights the reciprocal influences shaping the political development of Shi'is in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Lebanon, as well as the impact of the revival of Shi'ism on the larger Arab world. The narrative concludes with an assessment of the risks and possibilities arising from the assertion of Shi'I power in Iraq and from America's attempt to play an increasingly forceful role in the Middle East. A landmark book and a work of remarkable scholarship, Reaching for Power illuminates the Shi'a resurgence amid the shifting geopolitics of the Middle East.
Author: Toby Matthiesen
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107043042
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 305
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Book Description
This book traces the politics of the Shia in the oil-rich Eastern Province of Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia since the nineteenth century.
Author: Werner Ende
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004492038
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 420
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Book Description
This volume - grown out of an international conference at Freiburg University in 1999 - deals with various aspects of Shiite Islam since the 18th century. It is divided into two major parts, the first of which is dedicated to traditional institutions of theology and learning and their transformation in modern times. The second part treats internal debates and the activities of Shiite dissidents, showing that Shiism is far from being uniform. Ideological and political developments in the 20th century and especially the Islamic Revolution in Iran have shaped the image of modern Shiism more than any other tendencies and are therefore also discussed in greater detail in Parts three and four. This book reflects the state of the art in this field of Islamic studies, its 21 contributions covering three centuries and a vast geographical range.
Author: Michael Kerr
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190458119
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 404
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Book Description
A wide-ranging exploration of the cultural and historical hinterland of Syria's powerful Shia minority.
Author: Sabrina Mervin
Publisher: Saqi Books
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 372
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Book Description
A meticulously researched volume that presents the Shi'a worlds in all their complexities.
