The Shi'is of Iraq [Paperback]

Yitzhak Nakash (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 1995 | ISBN-10: 0691006431 | ISBN-13: 978-0691006437

The Shi'is of Iraq provides a comprehensive history of Iraq's majority group and its turbulent relations with the ruling Sunni minority. Yitzhak Nakash challenges the widely held belief that Shi'i society and politics in Iraq are a reflection of Iranian Shi'ism, pointing to the strong Arab attributes of Iraqi Shi'ism. He contends that behind the power struggle in Iraq between Arab Sunnis and Shi'is there exist two sectarian groups that are quite similar. The tension fueling the sectarian problem between Sunnis and Shi'is is political rather than ethnic or cultural, and it reflects the competition of the two groups over the right to rule and to define the meaning of nationalism in Iraq. A new introduction brings this book into the new century and illuminates the role that Shi`is could play in postwar Iraq.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This is a superb study of Iraq's Shia majority. Based on remarkable scholarship, the book brings to life a whole political community that has often been seen as a mere appendage of the larger Shia population in Iran. . . . This study is a potent reminder of the power of the modern state to shape and control even such basic social phenomena as religious identity and its expression. (William B. Quandt Foreign Affairs )

Nakash's account of the process of community formation in Iraq has fascinating implications for modern Middle Eastern history. In that broad historical revolution which is the settlement of the Middle Eastern tribes, we can see that the agents were: Sufism in most of the Sunni countries; fundamentalist Islam in Arabia; and Shi'ism in Iraq and Iran. In each case, the primitive Islam of the tribes takes on a new form as an accompaniment to a fundamental change in economic and social life. (M. E. Yapp The Times Literary Supplement )

Review

The most authoritative account we have on the Shi'a of Iraq. . . . Nakash's book provides a powerful corrective to earlier books on Iraq which have been battered by recent events. No reader who goes through Nakash's work will fail to be moved by the historical vistas he opens up. (Fouad Ajami, School of Advanced International Studies, The Johns Hopkins University )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 340 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (October 30, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691006431
• ISBN-13: 978-0691006437
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,854,306 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well Researched Book, November 21, 2000

By 

eshaiker (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Shi'is of Iraq (Paperback)

The author takes you straight to the subject and sinks deep into details that are rarely found in other books published in the English language. Excellent research with knowledge of culture and tradition that associates with this highly sensitive area. The most important argument made is that Shi'is of Iraq became a majority in the mid 19th century due to the active role of the seminaries in Najaf and Karabala spreading Shiisim Islam among the recently settled Arab tribes.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Encyclopedia of Iraqi Shia, July 22, 2009

By 

David W. Southworth (Alexandria, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Shi'is of Iraq (Paperback)

In this book Nakash paints a picture of change and how it has affected the mid to southern part of Iraq. Iraqi Arabs in the late nineteenth century began to convert to Shiism en masse. However, in contrast to the Iranian system, where Shiism had been a state religion got five hundred years, Iraqi Shia stayed cloistered in their seminaries in Najaf and Karbela

This major difference between Iraqi and Iranian Shia, a question too many prognosticators who likely don't know the difference between Sunni and Shiite but claim to know what is going on in the middle east today. The people who claim to be experts on cable news likely won't read this book, but it would be a step in the right direction.

This book is also for serious scholars, because Nakash goes through great detail the history of corpse traffic, the history of relations between the urban centers such as Baghdad, and Southern Iraq, largely poor with only a few cities.

While a bit cumbersome to get through, the writer may have had thought that his audience would only be academics, but in this environment this book should be widely read by as wide an audience aas possible.

I highly recommend this book

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars informative and well researched, June 13, 2009

By 

K. Jaber (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Shi'is of Iraq (Paperback)

I came across this book in a public library when I wanted to know more about the Iraq war events. I have read it. I have found it a well researched and informative piece of good scholarly work. Recently a friend of mine wanted to know more about the people of Iraq. I could not find a better readable reference on a significant part of the Iraqi society. Therefore I proceeded to buying a copy to present it as a gift to this friend. Recommended