The Other Shiites

Shia Islam is a central issue in contemporary politics. Often associated with Iran, Shiite communities actually exist in many Islamic countries. Focusing on the «other Shiites» outside Iran, this book offers a survey of their diversity and multiplicity in the last two centuries. The contributions cover three major topics. The first part deals with the relationship of Shia minorities to the Sunni regimes. Secondly the public affirmation of their identities through specific rituals and social attitudes is analysed. Finally, the third part of this volume examines the strengthening of these identities through traditional religious rituals and cultural performances, or through the re-interpretation and adaptation of these to present-day life. Coming from various academic backgrounds, the authors have used different methodologies and have been engaged in field-work.

Exploring the social, political, cultural, artistic, and religious significance of Muharram rituals for millions of global observers. Over the centuries, observances of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, have traveled far from their origins at Karbala--a windswept desert plain that is now a town in present-day Iraq--where, according to tradition, Hussein, the beloved grandson of Prophet Muhammad, was brutally put to death together with seventy-two of his male companions on the tenth day of the month. For this reason, Muharram is synonymous with both the first month and the tenth day. Hussein's passion and death are considered the ultimate example of sacrifice for Shia Muslims and scores of rituals devoted to Muharram have developed during the last thirteen centuries, especially in Iran where Twelver Shi'ism became the state religion in the sixteenth century. As the essays describe in Eternal Performance, many of these rituals were exported to other lands over time. They crossed boundaries and cultures from Iran and Iraq to Lebanon, the Indian subcontinent, North America, and the Caribbean. Yet all Muharram rituals, no matter where or how they are performed, have their origins in Karbala. The transformation and transmission of these observances to their present-day forms around the world are the result of the intersection of multiple races, religions, and artistic traditions. Eternal Performance explores the social, political, cultural, artistic, and religious significance of Muharram rituals for millions of global observers.

In this gripping narrative history, Lesley Hazleton tells the tragic story at the heart of the ongoing rivalry between the Sunni and Shia branches of Islam, a rift that dominates the news now more than ever. Even as Muhammad lay dying, the battle over who would take control of the new Islamic nation had begun, beginning a succession crisis marked by power grabs, assassination, political intrigue, and passionate faith. Soon Islam was embroiled in civil war, pitting its founder's controversial wife Aisha against his son-in-law Ali, and shattering Muhammad’s ideal of unity. Combining meticulous research with compelling storytelling, After the Prophet explores the volatile intersection of religion and politics, psychology and culture, and history and current events. It is an indispensable guide to the depth and power of the Shia–Sunni split.

Time Out of Memory: Ta'ziyeh, the Total Drama by Peter J. Chelkowski The Ta'ziyeh of the Martyrdom of Hussein translated and with an introduction by Rebecca Ansary Pettys The Origins of the Sunnite-Shiite Divide and the Emergence of the Ta'ziyeh Tradition by Kamran Scot Aghaie Muharram Ceremonies observed in Tehran by Ilya Nicolaevich Berezin (1843) by Jean and Jacqueline Calmard Acting Styles and Actor Training in Ta'ziyeh by William O. Beeman and Mohammad B. Ghaffari Identification and Analysis of the Scenic Space in Traditional Iranian Theater by Mohammad Reza Khaki; translated by Iraj Anvar Peripheral Ta'ziyeh: The Transformation of Ta'ziyeh from Muharram Mourning Ritual to Secular and Comical Theatre by Iraj Anvar A View from the Inside: The Anatomy of the Persian Ta'ziyeh Plays by Sadegh Homayouni Garden of the Brave in War: Recollections of Iran by Terence O'Donnell Karbala Drag Kings and Queens by Negar Mottahedeh Compelling Reasons to Sing: The Music of Ta'ziyeh by Stephen Blum Ta'ziyeh as Theatre of Protest by Hamid Dabashi Shi'ite Narratives of Karbala and Christian Rites of Penance: Michel Foucault and the Culture of the Iranian Revolution, 1978-79 by Janet Afary Moses and the Wandering Dervish: Ta'ziyeh at Trinity College by Milla Cozart Riggio Mohammad B. Ghaffari, Ta'ziyeh Director: an interview with Peter J. Chelkowski Presenting Ta'ziyeh at Lincoln Center by Nigel Redden Ta'ziyeh in France: The Ritual of Renewal at the Festival d'Automne by Alain Crombecque Ta'ziyeh in Parma by Anna Vanzan Remembering Ta'ziyeh in Iraq by Elizabeth Fernea Ritual, Blood, and Shiite Identity: Ashura in Nabatiyya, Lebanon by Augustus Richard Norton Shiite Theater in South Lebanon: Some Notes on The Karbala Drama and the Sabaya by Sabrina Mervin Flagellation and Fundamentalism: (Trans)forming Meaning, Identity, and Gender though Pakistani Women's Rituals of Mourning By Mary Elaine Hegland The Heart of Lament: Pakistani-American Muslim Women's Azadari Rituals by Bridget Blomfield From the Sun-Scorched Desert of Iran to the Beaches of Trinidad: Ta'ziyeh's Journey from Asia to the Caribbean by Peter J. Chelkowski.

The Shiites of Lebanon under Ottoman Rule provides an original perspective on the history of the Shiites as a constituent of Lebanese society. Winter presents a history of the community before the 19th century, based primarily on Ottoman Turkish documents. From these, he examines how local Shiites were well integrated in the Ottoman system of rule, and that Lebanon as an autonomous entity only developed in the course of the 18th century through the marginalization and then violent elimination of the indigenous Shiite leaderships by an increasingly powerful Druze-Maronite emirate. As such the book recovers the Ottoman-era history of a group which has always been neglected in chronicle-based works, and in doing so, fundamentally calls into question the historic place within 'Lebanon' of what has today become the country's largest and most activist sectarian community.

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.

Journalist Khalid M. Amayreh points out the Major Contradictions in the Shiite Imami Religion in his book My Story with the Shiites. He says the real contentious issue between Muslims and Shiites is not Yazid or Mu’awiya, Hassan or Hussein, Fadak or al-“Zahraa’s limb,” the Karbulaa tragedy or the so-called Raziyatul Khamis (Thursday’s calamity), Hadithul Manzela or the Saqifa of Bani Sa’ada, or the Ghadeer Khom event. In fact, these issues can be reduced to mere “red herrings” used by the Shiites to discredit Islam and undermine the entire Muhammadan message. This timely and eye-opening book clears up misconceptions as it tells the truth about Shiites and Shiism.

This book traces the politics of the Shia in the oil-rich Eastern Province of Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia since the nineteenth century.