Shi'ism : A Religion of Protest

For a Western world anxious to understand Islam and, in particular, Shi’ism, this book arrives with urgently needed information and critical analysis. Hamid Dabashi exposes the soul of Shi’ism as a religion of protest—successful only when in a warring position, and losing its legitimacy when in power. Dabashi makes his case through a detailed discussion of the Shi’i 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, Shi’ism 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 Shi’ism in its combative mode—reminiscent of its traumatic birth in early Islamic history. Hezbollah in Lebanon claims Shi’ism, 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. Shi’sm: 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. Prelude p. xi Preface p. xv Introduction p. 1 I Doctrinal Foundation 1 Death of a Prophet p. 29 2 Birth of a Revolutionary Faith p. 47 3 The Karbala Complex p. 73 II Historical Unfolding 4 In the Battlefields of History p. 103 5 In the Company of Kings, Caliphs, and Conquerors p. 132 6 At the Dawn of Colonial Modernity p. 159 III Visual and Performing Arts 7 Shi'ism and the Crisis of Cultural Modernity p. 207 8 On Ressentiment and the Politics of Despair p. 228 9 An Aesthetic of Emancipation p. 241 IV Contemporary Contestations 10 The Un/Making of a Politics of Despair p. 263 11 Toward a New Syncretic Cosmopolitanism p. 277 12 Contemporary Sites of Contestation p. 296 Conclusion p. 309 Note on Transliteration p. 327 Arabic and Persian Glossary p. 328 Schools of Theology, Philosophy, and Political Thought p. 338 Chronology p. 344 Notes p. 348 Further Reading p. 385 Acknowledgments p. 390 Index p. 393 Dabashi makes his case through a detailed discussion of the Shi'i 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, Shi'ism 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 Shi'ism in its combative mode - reminiscent of its traumatic birth in early Islamic history. Hezbollah in Lebanon claims Shi'ism, 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 Doctrinal foundation. Death of a prophet Birth of a revolutionary faith The Karbala complex Historical unfolding. In the battlefields of history In the company of kings, caliphs, and conquerors At the dawn of colonial modernity Visual and performing arts. Shi'ism and the crisis of cultural modernity On ressentiment and the politics of despair Toward an aesthetics of emancipation Contemporary contestations. Toward a new syncretic cosmopolitanism The un/making of a politics of despair Contemporary sites of contestation. Exposes the soul of Shi'ism as a religion of protest - successful only when in a warring position, and losing its legitimacy when in power. This book makes a case through a detailed discussion of the Shi'i doctrinal foundations, a panoramic view of its historical unfolding, and a varied investigation into its visual and performing arts. Shi'sm: 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."--Jacket "For a Western world anxious to understand Islam and, in particular, Shi'ism, this book arrives with urgently needed information and critical analysis. Hamid Dabashi exposes the soul of Shi'ism as a religion of protest - successful only when in a warring position, and losing its legitimacy when in power