Customer Reviews

Shi'a Islam: From Religion to Revolution (Princeton Series on the Middle East)

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As a Shi'i, I do not have any difficulties in accepting the Shi'i doctrines because I have always been taught the reasoning behind them. Therefore, it can be misleading to those who are not very familiar with Shi'i beliefs, to read books that do not give its reasoning, (clearly indicated by the misunderstanding by many). It is also worth noting that not everything published about the Shi'a are true, and so reliable sources must be followed. I recommend to those interested the book, Then I Was Guided, by Sheikh Teejani al-Samawi (available online, and summarised in al-islam.org). This book traces the life of the author and his first encounter with a Shi'i, his detailed study of Shi'ism and its acceptance (very enjoyable to read). You can also ask the Shi'a about their beliefs, especially when the reasoning is needed.

Coming from a guy who's been researching the Shi'i context of Islam, this book is a little misleading, no offense to Heinz Halm. The misleading part of this book stems off from the stereotypical Orientalist view of Shiism. I read this book about four years back and I remember when I started reading into different schools of Islamic thought, what I realized was that its sources were mainly ripped off from Pro Sunnite scholarship, claiming Shiism to be a politically inflamed creed, based upon revolution and rebellion( which is true to some extent), what it fails to introduce is real resources from Shiite scholarly works from Al kulayni to Majilisi, Tusi etc.. and the philosophical nature of the theological stance on Imamate. It neglects to give Shiism a say from a Shiites scholars point of view. For anybody interested in learning about Shi'ism at its roots, this is not a great book to look at.

Content Summary: Halm focuses on the following in this book: A) the separation of Shia from Sunni Islam at Karbala, B) the development of the Ashura ritual and Taziyeh passion play after that fact, and C) some of the historical, political and religious underpinnings for the radical Shia Revolution in Iran in 1979. Some large tracts of Khomeini's writings are included here.

Analytical Review: Halm claims neither to attack nor defend Shia Islam, but to merely rely the facts, and one has confidence that he does just that. His style seems very objective and straightforward, and I would strongly recommend him as a dependable scholar of Shia Islamic thought.

"Heinz Halm, an internationally renowned expert on Shi'ism, provides a concise and highly readable introduction to the historical and intellectual development of Twelver (Imamite) Shi'a Islam. He also presents Shi'i rituals as seen by European travelers. Halm considers these rituals as more important than Shi'a legal codes in terms of influencing culture. For example, he maintains that the 1979 Iranian revolution selectively utilized those historical and cultural symbols of Shi'ism that appealed to the sentiments of the masses; these symbols thus became tools in the hands of religious leaders." --Journal of Palestine Studies

"Illustrations, glossary, and index make this primer accessible and informative to nonspecialists . . . recommended for courses on Islam and comparative religions, especially at the undergraduate level, and as a welcome addition to the literature on Shi'ism in general." --Digest of Middle East Studies

An "authoritative account" --Middle East Quarterly

"Recommended. . . . " --Library Journal

"A solid, knowledgeable, and readable book without ideological baggage. . . . "
-Listen


"In this slim volume, which is a translation by Allison Brown of the 1994 German original, Professor Heinz Halm, a leading scholar of early Shi`ism, offers his interpretation of the Islamic Revolution in Iran in a historical perspective, reaching back to the formative era of Imami Shi`ism. The subtitle, "From Religion to Revolution," is a clear indication of his main argument. Rather than accept the rhetoric of the Islamic militants in Iran on the essentially revolutionary character of Shi`ism, Halm prefers to see the transition to revolution as a turning point in the evolution of Shi`ism as a religion.

Halm's historical perspective is a welcome corrective to the a-historical shallowness of the vast majority of the accounts of the Islamic Revolution, and goes farther back than those adopted by the few historically minded observers, including this reviewer. The depth of Halm's historical perspective is most valuable for this reason, and also because his sketch of the Shi`i history, despite its concision, offers quite a few novel points and emphases. Here, Halm's erudition stands him in good stead. In part 1, for instance, on the origins of Shi`ism and history of the imams, he can bring out the importance of the hitherto neglected and oldest account of the movement of the penitents (tawwabun) in 684-85 by Abu Mikhnaf of Kufa (d. 774). As the penitents--the Kufans who accused themselves of abandoning Husayn and being responsible for his death in Karbala (p. 680)--were the core group out of which Imami Shi`ism grew, Halm is right to highlight the importance of Abu Mikhnaf's report. However, he goes too far in his contention that it contains "all the essential elements that characterize the Shi`i religion today" (p. 18).

Be that as it may, consonant with this contention, part 2 is devoted to the historical ethnography of the passion plays and rituals of self-flagellation that commemorate the tragedy of Karbala during the first ten days of Muharram. The theoretical rationale for focusing on this aspect of Shi`ism is that ritual is more important for the formation of community than the regulations of the sacred law. The ethnography of the Muharram rituals is accompanied by fourteen figures, including interesting 19th-century illustrations, folk drawings from popular books, and contemporary photographs. Once again, the historical account is rich in detail and insight, but one is not compelled to assent to the concluding inferences that the statements he quotes from the contemporary flagellants "clearly demonstrate the element of penitence for the collective failure of the Shi`a" (p. 83), or that "sinful Shi`ites are seen as worthy of death and only their death can expiate their guilt" (p. 85). This overemphasis on sin and guilt strikes me as a Protestant reading of Shi`ism. One can concede the importance of the rituals of Muharram for fostering the attitudes and dispositions of the Shi`is but disagree about how they are understood and, therefore, about their effects. An alternative psychological interpretation would be that the 7th-century penitents' emphasis on sin and repentance developed into a theodicy of martyrdom and the suffering of the Shi`i as (innocent) victims. The guilt for the martyrdom of Husayn and his family, together with usurpation of the rights of the subsequent imams (and their alleged poisoning), came to be placed squarely on the shoulders of the usurpers and tyrannical governments. It was not the wronged Shi`i but the wrongdoing usurpers who were guilty and sinful. A further development I would emphasize is the other-worldly compensation for Husayn, Lord of the Martyrs, who can now intercede for the oppressed Shi`i and obtain salvation for them in the other world. After all, the Shi`i consider themselves the saved sect (firqa-ye najiya).

Halm calls the second half of his book (part 3), "The Government of the Expert--the Islam of the Mullahs." Here again, Halm provides us with a concise historical perspective on the growth of clerical authority in Shi`i history, and emphasizes (p. 110, esp.) that the dualism of royal and clerical authority in the structure of power in Iran since the Safavid period is crucial for understanding the Islamic Revolution of 1979. With that revolution, clerical authority overwhelmed royal authority, but in doing so, it also radically transformed Shi`ism. His account clearly shows that the conversion of the Shi`i tradition into a revolutionary ideology was "a very modern phenomenon and it demanded considerable modification of the religious tradition" (p. 132). "The political revolution also served to revolutionize Shi`ism itself and led to many essential changes. . . . The most important innovation is the principle of 'government of the expert [jurist would have been a more accurate translation]' (velayat-e faqih) (p. 138). Halm traces the implementation of this principle under Khomeini and his successor, confirming his assertion that "Khomeini thus revolutionized not only the Iranian state, but traditional Shi`ism as well" (p. 145). The translation is fluid and readable...
The translation of Shi`a Islam is a most welcome event. It provides the English reader with an authoritative conspectus of Shi`i history and an accurate description of the revolutionary transformation of Shi`ism since 1979, including some useful information collected by the author in Iran in 1993. As a short historical introduction to Shi`ism, it is serviceable to the general public and has no rival or substitute."--- International Journal of Middle East Studies

The most disturbing argument brought forth by Shia sect is the event of "Ghadir" when Prophet gives his lecture on supposedly passing authority to Ali. When I first heard this from one of my Shia friend, I flatly denied it and considered it a typical Shia fabrication. But to my personal embarrassment I later found out that this was written by our own ulema and great scholars. I was deeply disturbed. Why would Prophet say something like this, especially the way he approaches the whole thing. I don't blame some people having interpreted that event as prophet giving authority to Ali, certainly that event if not conclusive is very suggestive of that notion. It seems as though, and God know best, that Prophet wanted to create a dispute among his people after his death.

And yet another question comes to mind about Prophet's intention when I consider the fact that he wished to send all the great companions,with the exception of Ali, to a battle. He planned this course of action at a time when his death was at hand. Apparently companions of the prophet realized that something fishy is going on here and didn't go along with prophet's plan and inspite of Prophet's insistence they decided to stay and not leave town. Now I neither care much about Shiism nor about Sunnism, but if you ask me I think Prophet was definitely up to something. It is unlikely that all these events are just random events without any meaning. My guess is that he was planning something, though I am not sure what. But as history shows he did not succeed., and maybe that is why Islamic history, like many other major religions, is nothing but a big mess and a killing field. Needless to say that Prophet's own immediate family was first to fall victim to this unfortunate reality. Was he trying to prevent this by his careful maneuvering? I don't know the answer to this question. Oh well, there were other prophets before him who didn't succeed in what they had in mind as well, I guess such is life.