Islam
Shiism in the Modern Context: From Religious Quietism to Political Activism
By , Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (December 2008)
Sections: Islam
Periods: 1000 - 1999, 1900-1999, 2000 - present.
Key Topics: sectarianism, revolution, modernity, sects , rebellion, political theory.
Abstract
The intention of this article is twofold. The first part tries to elucidate some characteristics of Shiism by briefly describing the background of this basic sectarian rift within Islam and its consequences for the Shiite worldview. The second part is a stocktaking of the situation of Shiites in the contemporary Muslim world and the role of Shiism in today's political landscape in the Middle East and beyond. Apart from Iran and the revolution of 1979 which has proved to be the decisive watershed in Islamic sectarianism, four regions are dealt with in particular: Iraq, the Arabian Peninsula, Lebanon, and Pakistan. In conclusion, the transition from quietism to activism will be illustrated by several key concepts of classical Shiism and their modern implementation.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-8171.2008.00123.x
This article abstract has been viewed 1399 times.
Top 5 related articles
-
Translations of the Qur’ān into Western Languages
By , University of York
(Vol. 4, March 2009)
Religion Compass -
Islam in the Age of Globalization
By , Duke University
(Vol. 3, May 2008)
Religion Compass -
Controlling the Body: Muslim Feminists Debating Women's Rights in Indonesia
By , Valparaiso University
(Vol. 3, October 2008)
Religion Compass -
Islam and Democracy: Is Modernization a Barrier?
By , Georgetown University
(Vol. 1, November 2006)
Religion Compass -
Modern Qur’anic Hermeneutics
By , Indiana University–Purdue University, Fort Wayne
(Vol. 4, May 2009)
Religion Compass
Top 5 Related Blackwell Reference Chapters
The Second Coming of the Theocratic Age? Islamic Discourse after Modernity and Postmodernity
No serious scholar of Islam can deny the impact that modernity and postmodernity have had upon contemporary ...
By Aslam Farouk-All
From The Blackwell Companion to Contemporary Islamic Thought
Turkey, protest and revolution, 1800s–1923
Protest and social movements in the Turkish republic carry important continuities from the late Ottoman ...
By Özlem Tür
From The International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest
al-Sanusi, Muhammad ibn AH (ca. 1787–1859)
The al-Sanusi (Senussi), called sanmyyia in Arabic, is a Sufi order founded by Muhammad ibn Ali al-Sanusi, ...
By Andrew J. Waskey
From The International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest
Hamas:origins and development
Hamas was founded in 1987, soon after the outbreak of the first Intifada, or uprising, against Israeli ...
By Lawrence Davidson
From The International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest
Sects (Christian)
[xiii.b] The term ‘sect’ may be used pejoratively of bodies regarded as heretical (see Heresy, orthodoxy, ...