-PDF Download- Shiite Clerical Authority And Modern Politics EBOOK

The Clergy and the Modern Middle East

Author: Mohammad R. Kalantari

Publisher:

Published: 2021

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 9781838605575

"The Shiʻi clergy are amongst the most influential political players in the Middle East. For decades, scholars and observers have tried to understand the balance of power between, Shiʻi 'quietism' and 'activism'. The book is based on exclusive interviews with high-profile Shiʻi clerics in order to reveal how the Shiʻi clerical elite perceives its role and engages in politics today. The book focuses on three ground-breaking events in the modern Middle East: the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, the 2003 Iraq War, and the 2006 July war in Lebanon. By examining the nature and evolution of a Shiʻi clerical network the book finds that, far from there being strategic differences between 'quitest' and 'activist' clerics, Shiʻi mujtahid statesmen matured, from 1979 in Iran to 2003 Iraq, by way of a pragmatism which led to a strong form of transnational and associated whole in Lebanon in 2006. In doing so, the book breaks down the established, and misleading, dichotomisation of the Shiʻi clergy into 'quietists' and 'activists' and discovers that the decision of Shiʻi clerical elites to become politically active or to stay out of politics are attributable to their ability to adapt to their political environments."--

Transnational Shia Politics

Author: Laurence Louër

Publisher: Hurst Publishers

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 343

ISBN-13: 1849042144

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

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.

The Clergy and the Modern Middle East

Author: Mohammad R. Kalantari

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2021-09-23

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 1838605584

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

The Shi'i clergy are amongst the most influential political players in the Middle East. For decades, scholars and observers have tried to understand the balance of power between, Shi'i 'quietism' and 'activism'. The book is based on exclusive interviews with high-profile Shi'i clerics in order to reveal how the Shi'i clerical elite perceives its role and engages in politics today. The book focuses on three ground-breaking events in the modern Middle East: the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, the 2003 Iraq War, and the 2006 July war in Lebanon. By examining the nature and evolution of a Shi'i clerical network the book finds that, far from there being strategic differences between 'quitest' and 'activist' clerics, Shi'i mujtahid statesmen matured, from 1979 in Iran to 2003 Iraq, by way of a pragmatism which led to a strong form of transnational and associated whole in Lebanon in 2006. In doing so, the book breaks down the established, and misleading, dichotomisation of the Shi'i clergy into 'quietists' and 'activists' and discovers that the decision of Shi'i clerical elites to become politically active or to stay out of politics are attributable to their ability to adapt to their political environments.

Authority and Political Culture in Shi'ism

Author: Said Amir Arjomand

Publisher: SUNY Press

Published: 1988-01-01

Total Pages: 422

ISBN-13: 9780887066382

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Preface Contributors 1 Introduction: Shi’ism, Authority, and Political Culture Said Amir Arjomand Part I Essays 2 Imam and Community in the Pre-Ghayba Period Etan Kohlberg 3 The Evolution of Popular Eulogy of the Imams among the Shi’a Mohammad-Dja’far Mahdjoub and John R. Perry 4 The Mujtahid of the Age and the Mulla-bashi: An Intermediate Stage in the Institutionalization of Religious Authority in Shi’ite Iran Said Amir Arjomand 5 In Between the Madrasa and the Marketplace: The Designation of Clerical Leadership in Modern Shi’ism Abbas Amanat 6 Constitutionalism and Clerical Authority Abdol Karim Lahidji 7 Shari’at Sangalaji: A Reformist Theologian of the Rida Shah Period Yann Richard and Kathryn Arjomand 8 Ideological Revolution in Shi’ism Said Amir Arjomand Part II Selected Sources 9 An Annotated Bibliography on Government and Statecraft Mohammad-Taqi Danishpazhouh and Andrew Newman 10 ‘Allama al-Hilli on the Imamate and Ijtihad John Cooper 11 Two Decrees of Shah Tahmasp Concerning Statecraft and the Authority of Shaykh ‘All al-Karaki Said Amir Arjomand 12 The Muqaddas al-Ardabili on Taqlid John Cooper 13 Two Seventeenth-Century Persian Tracts on Kingship and Rulers William C. Chittick 14 Lives of Prominent Nineteenth-Century ‘Ulama’ from Tunika-buni’s Qisas al-’Ulama’ Hamid Dabashi 15 An Exchange between a Mujtahid and a Qajar Official Hamid Dabashi 16 Two Clerical Tracts on Constitutionalism Hamid Dabashi 17 Clerical Authority in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran Index

Shi'ite Clerical Authority and Modern Politics

Author: Mateo Mohammad Farzaneh

Publisher:

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 728

ISBN-13: 9781124273471

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

The Iranian Constitutional Revolution of 1906-1911 was a complex event with diverse ideological orientations. It established Iran's first elected parliament (the Majlis), which included members of various social classes and also succeeded to ratify Iran's first Constitution, which limited the powers of the Qajar monarchy. In that process, Iranians incorporated certain European concepts, such as constitutional rights and responsibilities that clearly challenged the traditional authority of Qajar's absolutism.

The Mystery of Contemporary Iran

Author: Mahnaz Shirali

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-09-25

Total Pages: 294

ISBN-13: 9781138516397

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Scope and content: "More than thirty years after Islam Republic's inception, the mystery remains. Nearly every day, Iranian leaders surprise the world; doubts remain as to the precise nature of a regime that calls itself both a Republic and Islamic but is neither one nor the other. While the Ayatollahs' unpopularity reaches unprecedented heights, their power seems more secure. The paradoxes weigh heavily and judgments diverge. While public opinion wonders how an archaic regime such as the mollahs could survive, some observers speak of Iran's modernization and of the clergy's ability to reconcile itself with politics. Understanding this specific modernization process that began with the Constitutional Revolution is difficult and raises a number of questions. How and why could ideological Islam dominate Iranian society since the late 1970s? How could it gain power and overcome the reform molded by the Constitutional Revolution? How did it gain influence in Iran and in the rest of the Muslim world? Mahnaz Shirali analyzes twentieth-century Iranian history to understand the role of the Shiite clergy in the social and political organization of a country that began its modernization. What enabled the clergy to take over politics and gain control of the State? How did it replace other prevailing political forces? Studying the past hundred years of Iranian history reveals the force of a religious conservatism opposing political modernity and repelling the slightest attempt at democracy by Iranians, thanks to constant metamorphoses. This book studies the curse of the Shiite clergy on political modernity. It is one of the most in-depth criticisms of the ideological Islam imposed on Teheran"--Provided by publisher

Beyond Sunni and Shia

Author: Frederic M. Wehrey

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 423

ISBN-13: 0190876050

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This collection seeks to advance our understanding of intra-Islamic identity conflict during a period of upheaval in the Middle East. Instead of treating distinctions between and within Sunni and Shia Islam as primordial and immutable, it examines how political economy, geopolitics, domestic governance, social media, non- and sub-state groups, and clerical elites have affected the transformation and diffusion of sectarian identities. Particular attention is paid to how conflicts over distribution of political and economic power have taken on a sectarian quality, and how a variety of actors have instrumentalized sectarianism. The volume, covering Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, Iran, and Egypt, includes contributors from a broad array of disciplines including political science, history, sociology, and Islamic studies. Beyond Sunni and Shia draws on extensive fieldwork and primary sources to offer insights that are empirically rich and theoretically grounded, but also accessible for policy audiences and the informed public.

Sunnis and Shi'a

Author: Laurence Louër

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2022-05-03

Total Pages: 236

ISBN-13: 0691234507

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

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.

Who Rules Iran?

Author: Wilfried Buchta

Publisher:

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →