The Shi'ite Movement in Iraq [Paperback]

Faleh A. Jabar (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2003

Timely and exhaustively researched, this book offers a perspective on Shi'ite political activism in Iraq before and after the fall of Saddam Hussein.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Unique and impressive...draws a fascinating picture of the Shi'ite landscape. Faleh Jabar is uniquely placed to write on modern Iraq."--Sami Zubaida

Book Description

Long oppressed despite their majority status, the Shi'is of Iraq have seen their leaders assassinated or exiled and their rituals debased. But they are a force to be reckoned with, and will play a key role in the reshaping of Iraq. This book is a thorough investigation by one of the foremost experts on the region into the origins and development of Iraqi Shi'ite political activism. Tracing the course of the Shi'is' quest for self-representation, the book shows how their political formation has historically intersected with a variety of religious and geopolitical forces, contending with a series of modern-era strongman regimes culminating in the most violent of them all, the Ba'th rule under Saddam Hussein. Almost alone amongst observers of the region, Faleh A. Jabar greatly enlarges our understanding of Shi'ism in its social, cultural, political and economic dimensions, and underscores the fact that Iraq's Shi'is have never constituted the homogeneous group that political analysts have too often insisted upon.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 196 pages
• Publisher: Saqi Books (August 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0863563953
• ISBN-13: 978-0863563959
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,406,391 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a masterpiece work on Iraqi Shiites, April 21, 2005

By 

Hussain Abdul-Hussain (Washington,DC USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Shi'ite Movement in Iraq (Paperback)

Faleh Abdul-Jabar's book on Iraqi Shiites is a unique, sophisticated and well-researched work of sociology. The book traces the origins of the formation of political Shiism (Shiites are the second major faction in Islam after main stream Sunnis) in Iraq.
Abdul-Jabbar argues with skill that the evolution of the institutions of this sect was closely tied to the unfolding political events in the region starting with Ottoman Iraq, followed by the period of the formation of the Iraqi nation-state under the Hashemite monarchy toppled in 1958, and ending with the rule of the Baathist regime which lasted until 2003.
Even though this first edition includes an updated introduction covering the role of the Shiites in the Iraqi opposition movement outside of Iraq and the downfall of the Baathist regime, the book was clearly written while the Baathists were still in power. This makes it especially imperative for the author to print an updated second edition with an appendix that highlights the role of the Shiites and their religious leadership in post Baath Iraq.
The book is also an excellent encyclopedic document recording the creation of Iraqi Shiite parties and prominent figures and puting them in their greater Middle Eastern context as it includes brief information on Iranian and Lebanese Shiites. The book, however, leaves the Shiites of Eastern Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in the dark.
The Shiite Movement in Iraq also documents the formation of the first militant Shiite movement the Islamic Daawa Party, which first engaged in theoretical debates with the Iraqi Communists and was later bitterly oppressed by the Baathists. The book also talks about the evolution of the institution of the Marja' (the highest ranking Shiite ayatollah), its centralization and decentralization, its legitimacy and the religious-temporal relations in leading the Shiites. Most importantly, Abdul-Jabbar describes the procession of the Shiite rituals such as Ashura and the Arba'een and traces the origins of the people who sponsor these events and who perform them.
Abdul-Jabar's includes a fortune of names, dates and references to Shiite cultural events. Readers need either to have minimum background information about the Middle East and Shiites or at least read attentively in order to be able to follow up as the book builds up.
This work is a masterpiece and is definitely five stars.