Sacred Space And Holy War: The Politics, Culture and History of Shi'ite Islam [Hardcover]

Juan Cole (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 4, 2002

Juan Cole examines Shi'i Islam as a world religion that has faced modernity on its own terms. He explores the little known history of Shi'i communities as far afield as Bahrain and India, giving attention as well to important centers such as Lebanon , Iraq, and Iran. He demonstrates the way in which the Shi'is have sought to define space and time as sacred, and to defend those spaces from encroachment by the Other, whether that other be Sunni Arab, Hindu, or European Christian.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...succeeds in drawing significant conclusions that benefit specialists of Islamic studies and students...."--El-Sayed el-Aswad, Digest of Middle East Studies

About the Author

Juan Cole is Professor of History at the University of Michigan and the editor of International Journal of Middle East Studies.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: I. B. Tauris (October 4, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1860647618
• ISBN-13: 978-1860647611
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,360,515 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

66 of 83 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not what I expected, May 29, 2003

By 

Tim Parker (Leavenworth, KS) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sacred Space And Holy War: The Politics, Culture and History of Shi'ite Islam (Paperback)

The book appears to be a collection of disparate lectures or essays loosely tied together to take advantage of the spike in Islamic interest due to terrorism. The book title is deceptive, as it is actually the title of a single chapter in the book, which refers to the 1855 battle over the Ayodha mosque site in India. Although the book does shed light on Bahraini, Saudi and Indian Shi'ite communities (only the Twelver sect, however) it never provides a strong sense of Shia "politics, culture and history" as implied in the title. There is some relevant information on Iranian, Iraqi and Lebanese Shi'ites, but not the level of detail I expected. You will learn something if you read this book, just understand going in that you will have to read another book if you want an understanding of modern Shi'ism. There has got to be a better organized, more focused and concise resource available.

36 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exellent book but not a primer on Shia, April 14, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Sacred Space And Holy War: The Politics, Culture and History of Shi'ite Islam (Paperback)

This book is an excellent exploration of a subject not well studied by Western scholars. While this book is well written, I would suggest reading a primer on middle-eastern or Islamic history first. The book is aimed at people who have a general understanding of the subject but are looking to add real depth to what they know. You will find few people who know the subject better than Cole. I suggesting listening to his recent interview on NPR ("Fresh Air with Terry Gross") which can be heard on-line. I can only hope that people in government who have to make critical choice based on their knowledge of the Middle-East will read books like this.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent collection of Essays on Shi'ism, June 9, 2008

By 

C. A. (Bloomington, IN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sacred Space And Holy War: The Politics, Culture and History of Shi'ite Islam (Paperback)

Juan Cole is a noted expert on Shi'ism and here gathers several of his seminal research articles and essays.