Vali Nasr's book “The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam Will Shape the Future" is an excellent introduction into the history of the Middle East conflicts. The biggest drawback to purchasing this book is that it was clearly written in 2005 and published in 2006 so it is grossly out of date. I highly recommend the book but want you to understand the caveats.
While I enjoyed the book tremendously and learned a great deal there is room for both praise and criticism.
I was looking for a book that would explain the divides within the Muslim world from a historical perspective and this book clearly meets that objective. The book spends a great deal of time covering the Islamic world from the death of The Prophet in the 7th century until the 12th century and uses examples of historic events that are echoed by current and past players (Hussein, Khomeini, Sistani, Assad) in this region. It barely covers anything between that time and 9/11. That's not a drawback because it's really since 9/11 that Americans have been so focused (but dangerously misinformed) on events in the Muslim world.
This is not a book about the Middle East. Israel figures only marginally in this book. This is a book about Muslim politics and the two major Islamic faiths- Sunniism and Shiism.
Several other reviewers said that the book is nonpartisan but I disagree with that. The author is Iranian born a Shiite Muslim. The book is written from the viewpoint of of Shiite and takes aim directly at the Sunnis. Throughout the book Sunnis are cast as the extremists where Shias are cast in the role of historical underdogs and mediators. That's not to say Shias don't get some of the blame from Nasr for the Middle East tragedies but the division of fault is unbalanced and his criticism of Shias comes finally in the last two pages.
Nasr identifies the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the beginning of the rise of the Shias. Nasr does an excellent job of painting the good and the evil of the Ayatollah Khomeini and his central role in the Iranian Revolution. Anyone wanting to understand more about the character of Khomeini will find it in this book. While we find deep character analysis of Ayatollah Khomeini the analysis of Iraq’s Ayatollah Sistani, also Shia, is less intense and paints Sistani as a great moderate.
After reading the book one comes away with a clear understanding of how the war in Iraq has plunged the Middle East into the chaos that we see today. The author clearly identifies the US led invasion of Iraq as a dramatic escalation in Middle East conflict and a force in more widespread Shia power.
The greatest fault with the book is that nowhere does the author analyze the roles and motives of those who brought the war to Iraq. The author dances around the sensitivity of the subject because at the time the book was written George W Bush was still the President and the author had a rooted interest in seeing the American role in Iraq continue. Remember while the Iraq invasion removed Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, from power it shifted the power almost entirely to the Iraqi Shia majority. The book implies that the Bush administration may have been unaware of what impact this shift would have on future world events. (The index links to 2 mentions of Bush 43 in the whole book)
Nasr's most recent book "The Dispensable Nation” is highly critical of the Obama administration and how, in the author's opinion, Obama has deserted Iraq and therefore the Shias.
"The Shia Revival" examines the role of Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Assad regime in Syria, Islamism in Pakistan and the influence of the Royal Saudi family but pays scant attention to the events and tragedy of 9/11, Afghanistan and the Taliban. Nasr suggests that the anti-American part of this conflict is a diversion from the real issue- hatred between Sunni and Shia factions of Islam. Nasr further points out that extreme sects within the Sunni faith re using American hatred as a recruiting weapon when their real target is the Shia.
Nowhere does the author discuss the close ties between the first and second Bush presidencies and the Saudi royal family. Only when I read the New York Times review of the author's follow-up book did I understand clearly how the author wanted to avoid criticizing the Bush government but certainly spares no criticism of the following administration.
A possible reason could be because the author views Bush as the liberator of the Shias in Iraq and the subsequent withdrawal of American troops by Obama as having a tragic impact on Shias. This partisan viewpoint recasts “Rise of the Shia” in a much more unfavorable light.
Ahmed Chalabi, an Iraqi born Shia and President of Iraq for 30 days gets only scant mention in the book. His purported influence, using false information, on VP Dick Cheney is not discussed at all. To me, another red flag that only part of the story is being revealed.
Nasr is an Iranian born American, distinguished scholar and is clearly passionate and knowledgeable about the history of the Middle East but he comes at his analysis from a distinctly partisan Shia point of view.
I highly recommend reading this book but to think one understands the Middle East after reading this book alone would be a mistake. It is one viewpoint but an essential one. If you are new to Muslim politics or simply want to start understanding the history behind the Muslim turmoil this is an excellent book to buy.
My journey into understanding the Middle East continues but I will now seek an alternative narrative for my next book.
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