The Shi'a in the Modern Arab World

How the Arab Sh‘ia are claiming their autonomy from both Sunni marginalization and Iranian influence

The Arab Shi‘a have long been overlooked, marginalized, or reduced simply to political pawns of the Iranian regime. Based upon extensive work on the ground in the region, The Shi‘a in the Modern Arab World reveals the untold stories and unheard voices behind the latest Shi‘a drive for independence and hard-fought political agency. In doing so, it also challenges the conventional wisdom among Western policymakers who have tended to group what is in fact a diverse community of believers into an undifferentiated “Shi‘aCrescent,” seen as a transnational source of global instability.

Organized into five country-specific chapters, dedicated to different Arab Twelver Shi‘a communities in Lebanon, Iraq, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen respectively, this book chronicles their past marginalization and new-found autonomy, their changing relations with their respective governments, and their shifting religious alliances. It also documents their efforts to integrate into their respective societies and form national identities apart from their religious sect. The book also presents the view from Tehran, explaining how Iran has tried and failed to deal with a loss of allegiance from other Shi‘a in the region. This trend is likely to evolve further as the Iranian regime faces the greatest challenge to its survival since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Contributors:
Akeel Abbas non-resident researcher, Emirates Policy Center, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Mohanad Hage Ali Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center, Beirut, Lebanon
Andrew Hammond The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
Bader Al-Ibrahim writer and researcher, Virginia, USA
Banafesh Keynoush University of Notre Dame, Indiana, USA
Andrew McIntosh Salam for Democracy and Human Rights, Essex, UK