4 comments about Mullahs on the Mainframe: Islam and Modernity Among the Daudi Bohras.

1. Jonah Blank's book is well researched and written to appeal to both traditional Bohras and the second generation Daudi Bohras settled in the Western Hemisphere. The initial emphasis on the factual data and the rituals provides a credible introduction to the theme of the book. He discusses with decorum the intellectual controversies that have plagued the sect and exhibits non-judgemental finesse. The glossary, index and elaborate references are very helpful. Although his bias is implicit, he provides the readers with the varying view points. Further, although he worked with the "inner system" to come up with this book, he is limited by the lack of access he had, to the "batin" text. His discussion of the philosophy of the sect in the broader Shiite perspective provides a good balance and allows the readers to think through the nuances of orthropraxy, he frequently alludes to. However, a more in-depth comparison with the orthodox Shiite dogma and more elaborate a description of the Fatmid era and hierarchy would have been more enlightening. Maybe, a topic for future manuscripts!



2. As a Daudi Bohra, I can attest to the quality of research the author has put in to his work to create this really interesting case study on our community. He has done it not from secondary sources but by living within the community, understanding its customs and learning its language.
   I found this account very well structured and intellectual and it presents an example of how great leadership can transform a community to live harmoniously in this age and yet value their centuries old religious principles.
   Great job Sir.



3. This is simply The most important recent text on the status of Bohras living today. Jonah does a great service to not just for Bohras but to the study of Shiism in all its rich varients; a much neglected area of study.
   
   I am eager to read more of Jonahs work...he balances the facts and figures well, with a wonderful sense of emotional connection to living people and living communities; characters come alive as part of the fabric of this community.
   
   Simply a must have for those interested in Isma'ilism.



4. Well written book to Recognise the Bohras Of the Modern world ..
   
   EXCELLENT WORK BY THE AUTHOR.
   JONAH BLANK

2 comments about Justice and Remembrance: Introducing the Spirituality of Imam Ali.

1. "Justice and Remembrance" is a tripartite study of the spiritual ethos of Imam 'Ali ibn Abu Talib, who represents the elaboration par excellence of the meanings contained in the Qur'an and enshrined in its application in the precedent set by its Messenger. This task is one of tremendous importance for appropriating the roots of religion and understanding the essential doctrines that constitute Islam as such, apart from an Islam which has pinned to it long complicated histories of sectarian and political interests which is of little concern for those serious seekers of Truth.
   
   The Imam says: 'People are of three types: a lordly knower ('alim rabbani); one who seeks knowledge (muta'allim) for the sake of deliverance; and the common folk (hamaj ra'a) following just anyone, swaying with every current, not desiring to be illuminated by the light of knowledge, nor seeking refuge from any strong support'. One could see the three dimensions of Islam as corresponding to these three categories of people; Ihsan (spiritual virtue) being the way of the lordly knower, Iman (faith) being the way of the seeker, and Islam (submission) the way of the common folk.
   
   The main text under consideration is the Nahj al-Balagha (the Peak of Eloquence), a collection of sermons and doctrinal exposition attributed to Imam 'Ali compiled by Sayyed al-Radi. It is possibly the most important work of classic Arabic literature (the Qur'an, or any Sacred Book, cannot be considered literature) and has been much praised for its unmatched rhetorical style, parables and the eloquence of its expression. The text does have its particularities, but its universal currents are pronounced more strongly, even in the more political sermons. The author Reza Shah-Kazemi focuses his study of the Imam's spiritual ethos on that unmistakable universalism which distinguishes the Imam from those tendencies which reduce Islam to its legal tradition or to sentimental theology. Those particulars have their respective levels of importance, but only in relation to the universal, for Truth is One and simplicity is closer to unity than complexity.
   
   The work is divided into three sections: an introduction to the spiritual ethos of the Imam, a detailed study of the Imam's conception of justice ('adl) as the foundational virtue of Man, and the Imam's teaching concerning the remembrance of God (dhikru 'Llah). Words fall short of describing the profundity of Kazemi's erudition. One is immediately reminded of that intellectual tenor which characterizes those champions of the Sophia Perennis, but it is clear that Kazemi's concern is that universal Truth which is to be gleamed through the prism of the Islamic tradition and not mere speculation on universal principals divorced from their traces in Manifestation. In Imam 'Ali we find the crystallization of this universal Truth which compliments in its inwardness and supra-formal orientation that same Truth found in the Qur'an and its Prophet in its more outward and formal manner. Justice and Remembrance reflect the two functions of the Imam, the former found in his arresting chivalry on the battlefield and his impenetrable integrity in the office of Caliph, and the later in his majestic sanctity and his function of initiating the esoteric tradition within Islam.
   
   The chief aim of this study is clearly to encourage us, through the Ihsani, sapiential, or intellect-ual perspective, to become that "polished mirror" before the Light that is God by assisting us in comprehending the metaphysical infrastructure of the relationship between God and Man and by drawing our attention to the two poles of religious practice: concentration on the Absolute (the remembrance of God) and conformity to the Absolute in the human order (Virtue, or Justice).
   
   In regard to the former Imam 'Ali has said: 'Do not remember God absent mindedly (sahiyan), nor forget Him in distraction; rather, remember Him with perfect remembrance (dhikran kamilan), a remembrance in which your heart and tongue are in harmony, and what you conceal conforms to what you reveal. But you will not remember Him according to the true reality of the remembrance (haqiqat al-dhikr) until you forget your own soul in your remembrance'. In regard to the later Imam 'Ali has written to one of his governors: 'Infuse your heart with mercy for the subjects, love for them and kindness towards them. Be not like a ravenous beast of prey above them, seeking to devour them. For they are of two types: either your brother in religion or your like in creation, Mistakes slip from them, defects emerge from them, deliberately or accidentally. So bestow upon them your forgiveness and pardon, just as you would have God bestow upon you His forgiveness and pardon; for you are above them, and the one who has authority over you is above you, and God is above him who appointed you ... and through them He tests you', and 'Let your most beloved treasure be the treasure of virtuous acts. Dominate your inclinations, and exercise self-restraint in the face of that which is unlawful for you--for indeed self-restraint engenders within the soul a proper balance as regards what it likes and what it dislikes.'
   
   One could understand the scope of this work by seeing it as an extensive introduction to the Ihsani tradition or quintessential Islam through the sermons and maxims of Imam 'Ali. Kazemi shows us how the Imam's use of paradoxical pronouncement on the ultimate nature of the Real and our relationship with this Real on all the various levels of the hierarchy that is Man activates the Intellect ('aql)--referred to by the Imam as a "buried treasure", much like the hadith qudsi where God refers to Himself as a "hidden treasure" Who "longed to be known"--and ushers us towards the realization of Tawhid in its highest sense. This Ihsani tradition is the understanding and appropriation of Revelation through the Intellect, which is its microcosmic compliment, and includes the various sacred sciences which return us from our natural heedlessness and baseness to our supra-natural sanctity and perfection. As the Imam says, 'The prophet of a man is the interpreter of his intellect (rasul al-rajul tarjuman `aqlihi)', and 'He attains deliverance whose intellect dominates his caprice'.
   
   If one is seeking to understand the Real through Its self-disclosure in that rich tradition which is Islam I can think of no better place to start than a patient and contemplative study of this most precious work. It is as if the warrior sage himself has been resurrected in the humble writings and reflections of Reza Shah-Kazemi; something the author himself would undoubtedly deny, but which for this reader cannot but be the case. This is also a work which pushes the reader beyond its covers, as books can only be supports for spiritual practice and can never take their place. Theoretical or conceptual understanding is naught in the light of that universal Truth which the Imam defines thus: 'Al-Haqiqa (unconditioned Truth) is the unveiling of the splendors of Majesty, without any allusion ... the effacement of that which is erroneously imagined (al-mawhum), together with the clarity of that which is truly known (al-ma'lum) ... the attraction of the absolute unicity of the quality of Tawhid ... a light dawning from the morn of eternity, its traces shimmering on the temples of Tawhid'.



2. Although this book is not an easy read it is well worth the effort. It explains the Shia concept of justice ( putting everything in its proper place) by reviewing a letter written by Imam Ali to his deputy in Egypt.
   This section should be required reading for everyone in a leadership position.
   I have yet to read the section on Remebrance( calling God to mind) but I am sure it will be equally uplifting.

2 comments about The Vanished Imam: Musa Al Sadr and the Shia of Lebanon.

1. Though the place is Lebanon and the time is mid-20th century, the story it tells offers a lot of insight into the present situation in Iraq. Ajami gives a brief, cogent history of Shi'a religious beliefs, history and politics. Musa al-Sadr, the vanished imam of the title, is a tantalizing individual who tried to bridge the abyss between the Shi'a past and its future. I found the book and the bespoke imam fascinating. Lebanon in the 1970s was a misunderstood religious, political and international disaster and there are frighening parallels to the events of today.



2. This book is Ajami's best. It creates the ideological, sociological and historic context for the career of one of the most illustrious Iranian-born Lebanese Shiite mullahs in Lebanon. Ajami also provides clear genealogy of the roots of Mussa Sadr.
   
   In 1959, Sadr had arrived in Lebanon to succeed the mufti of Tyr in southern Lebanon. Unlike religious men of his time, Sadr took his position to unprecedented levels as he started preaching a reverse in the fortunes of the Shiite community of Lebanon that had presumably been until the arrival of Sadr a marginalized and impoverished group living under the grip of its unsympathetic feudal lords.
   
   Ajami skillfully captured the revolutionary and untraditional discourse of Sadr as he painted his importance in Shiite minds by comparing him to Shiite legendary imams. Ajami also highlighted the contradiction in Sadr's message upon the breakout of Lebanon's civil war in 1975. While Sadr first announced that he was opposed to violence, realities had in fact forced him to start forming his own armed militia.
   
   The book is informative while Ajami's entertaining style adds much value to this work.

No comments about The 2500 Adages of Imam Ali (Forgotten Books).

No comments about Early Philosophical Shiism: The Isma'ili Neoplatonism of Abu Ya'qub al-Sijistani (Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization).

No comments about Textbook On Shi'a Islam.

1 comments about The Shi'ite Movement in Iraq.

1. 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.

5 comments about Sacred Space And Holy War: The Politics, Culture and History of Shi'ite Islam.

1. The book appears to be a collection of disparate lectures or essays loosely tied together to take advantage of the spike in Islamic interest due to terrorism. The book title is deceptive, as it is actually the title of a single chapter in the book, which refers to the 1855 battle over the Ayodha mosque site in India. Although the book does shed light on Bahraini, Saudi and Indian Shi'ite communities (only the Twelver sect, however) it never provides a strong sense of Shia "politics, culture and history" as implied in the title. There is some relevant information on Iranian, Iraqi and Lebanese Shi'ites, but not the level of detail I expected. You will learn something if you read this book, just understand going in that you will have to read another book if you want an understanding of modern Shi'ism. There has got to be a better organized, more focused and concise resource available.



2. This book is an excellent exploration of a subject not well studied by Western scholars. While this book is well written, I would suggest reading a primer on middle-eastern or Islamic history first. The book is aimed at people who have a general understanding of the subject but are looking to add real depth to what they know. You will find few people who know the subject better than Cole. I suggesting listening to his recent interview on NPR ("Fresh Air with Terry Gross") which can be heard on-line. I can only hope that people in government who have to make critical choice based on their knowledge of the Middle-East will read books like this.



3. This poorly edited and abysmally proofread book is nothing more than a compilation of unrelated articles on obscure elements of the history of one Shia sect. There is no unifying theme, and the book fails utterly to live up to its promise. I bought it after being impressed by interview with the author on NPR's "Fresh Air" program. Clearly the interviewer made the running.



4. Juan Cole's credentials are consistently undermined but his uncanny ability to apologize and/or ignore the savagery perpetrated by the Shia on ALL non-Shia citizens in their midst. This blatant deception reduces the entire work to yet another source of propaganda with that mighty Islamic stamp of approval. Who pays your bills, Juan?



5. Juan Cole is a noted expert on Shi'ism and here gathers several of his seminal research articles and essays.

No comments about Shi'ite Lebanon: Transnational Religion and the Making of National Identities.

1 comments about Early Sufi Women: Dhikr an-Niswa al-Muta'abbidat as-Sufiyyat.

1. Where are they? Why aren't we like them? This ancient text leaves you with those questions, and has you drilling your heart over this final though...When will I become like them?

   The introduction gives insight to the ancient text that was recored by As-Sulami Rahimullah. The life of him, and the basic orginization of his text Dhikr an niswa al muta 'abbidat as sufiyyat. The introduction is very useful to those who read english translated Sufi texts, because you must be trained formally and spiritually how to read a Sufi book. Why? Just because the book is old, translated into English and available does not make it a good rendering to the actual work itself.

   Regarding thr format of the book, it is in a biogrophy style, with the Arabic text facing the English. The name of the women, her Kunya, or her name she was known by. Then the narration begins with the Isnad of how As-Sulami heard of the particular woman.

   You are left with nothing but awe, love and want of the divine and at least left begging Allah for their qualities. these women were true devotees, they spent their time working hard for their akhira, and taking little from the dunya. May Allah give us all a glimpse of what these women had, for they had it (mar'ifa) at every waking momment!