No comments about Zion Burns (Hans Strauss Saga).

1 comments about The Arab Shi'a: The Forgotten Muslims.

1. "... the West demonstrates a dangerous tendency to equate Sunnis with secularism and Shi'a with Islamic Movements. Neither is accurate."

   This book should be required reading for all Western heads of state, attorneys general, members of congress and parliament, AND journalists.

   The authors' outlook is counter to decades of American posturing and shows how current policies to "contain" the Shi'a in the region by the US and allies is a downward spiral and the exact opposite of what needs to happen if there is to be stability for all in the region.

   This is an excellent discription of of how the Arab Shi'a have been marginalized in the Arab world, including those countries such as Iraq and Bahrain where they represent the confessional majority. The authors go on to attack western fears of Iranian led Shi’a revolution in the Arab world by delving into the religious, social and cultural differences between the Persian Shi’a and the Arab Shi’a and how the Arabs have historically in each country chosen race and nationality over sectarian alliances when push came to shove.

   More shocking, as they review the conditions of the Shi’a in each country where they make up significant parts of the population, is the treatment of the Shi’a by fellow Muslims and Arabs. Especially in those cases where they represent a numerical minority. In those places the Shi’a are oppressed but cannot claim minority status, even though their own Shi’a sect may be marginalized or even unrecognized by the Sunni majority.

   They go on to describe how this marginalization is a far greater threat to regional stability and the West’s image in the region. The question is whether the Western countries can turn a blind eye to the treatment of the Shi’a and still tout themselves as focused on Democracy and Human Rights. This loss of “face” and continued support of oppressive regimes is a far greater threat than the threat of Iranian efforts to purposely destabilize regimes and the region. Although in the end, the oppressed may look anywhere for answers.

   Finally, this book is extremely relevant in today’s world â€" even though it was written when Sadaam still controlled Iraq. Iraq is central to Shi’a culture and history. Iraq could easily once again by pass Iran as the center of influence of the world’s Shi’a. More importantly will be the Iraqi influence on the Arab Shi’a in Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Syria and Lebanon.

   America and the West stand at a crossroad of being the actors who help the Shi’a majorities to achieve their just share and the Shi’a minorities to achieve justice.

   As Fuller and Francke say:

   “… an Iraq that that does not permit the Shi’a to play the role accorded to them by their demographic majority is doomed to failure, schism and manipulation by outside forces, especially Iran. Saudi and Kuwaiti objections to the establishment of democratic processes in Iraq should be ignored…”

   Funny, we’ve been hearing the opposite for over 20 years.

No comments about Chosen among Women: Mary and Fatima in Medieval Christianity and Shi'ite Islam.

4 comments about The Origins and Early Development of Shi'a Islam (The Millennium (Series).).

1. "The Origins and Early Development of Shia Islam" is perhaps the best book I've read in explaining the events that occured after the death of Prophet Mohammed. The book primarily uses four well regarded historians from among both Sunni and Shia Muslims. There are also documented letters written by the Sunni Caliphs and Shia Imams which further elaborate the points being made in the book and allow for readers to draw their own conclusions.
   
   I highly recommend this book to anybody who is interested in the development of Islam into it's two main sects. The author approached the subject matter academically and logically.



2. This book is a definite eye opener. I recommend this book to every Muslim or non-Muslim with an open mind and a deep understanding of the issues involved. I have read most of the earlier work on the life of Mohammed. This book offers by far the most accurate account of major events that unfolded after the death of Mohammed. The political upheaval amidst the last days of Mohammed's life, are well documented by experts. This book sketches a balanced approach to decipher and extract the motives behind the political battles that raged internally, and the development of a strategy by master planners to select a successor of Mohammed without his input. Is it possible that Mohammed would leave the Muslim community (Umma) without a successor? The answer is no. History stands witness that Ali was his choice and was repeatedly introduced as a successor. The tragic political fallout emerging out of a quick coup d'etat, immediately after Mohammed's demise, was confiscation of the task of leadership from Ali. History, turned sympathetic to the architects of the new regime, and the likes of, Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan and Yazid forged ahead into the fold of Khilafath.
   
   His presentation style is extraordinary in the sense that he compiles authoritative references and sources universally acceptable, and synchronizes his conclusions. The logical flow of his analyses based on historic facts allows one to discern the realities not presented before.
   
   Khilafath is Allah's (God's) assigned task on an individual, symbolic to represent piety, and devotion to the principles of Quran and Islam. Khilafath was designed to foster love, freedom and Islamic justice. Assiduous research of the early history of Islam suggests that Khilafath with one exception was obtained through espionage, coercion, intimidation and political trickery.
   
   Muawiya was a self proclaimed Khalif. Muawiya's mother, Hinda; was popularly known for her promiscuity and barbaric voracity for chewing human liver in a battlefield. His father Abu Sufyan was a bitter enemy of Islam all his life, and fought all wars against Islam. Later when captured, Abu Sufyan begged for mercy and forgiveness of his life from Mohammed.
   
   Muawiya and his son Yazid acquired Khilafath through despotic means. Yazid, a drunkard and a womanizer who publicly ridiculed Islam and Mohammed was imposed on Muslims as Khalifa. The disenfranchised and morally degraded Muslims were unwilling to accept his Khilafath. Yazid, however, was determined to hang onto it. His immediate response was to seek and obtain allegiance from a major threat, Husain Ibn Ali; grandson of Mohammed, and the rightful inheritor of the title of Khilafath. It is important to note that Husain never claimed Khilafath, yet Yazid needed Husain's endorsement to legitimize his character and Khilafath.
   
   Husain, the embodiment and enforcer of Quranic and Islamic principles, would never succumb to Yazid's demand for allegiance. With Husain's rejection, the atmosphere became charged for a showdown between the evil and the righteous. The opposing forces exploded on the plains of Kerbala. Islam was in an intensely compelling need to put down this storm of evil with a powerful blow of conviction to reinstate the principles of Islam. Husain achieved this through an "Ultimate Sacrifice" known in Quranic terminology as "Zibhul Azeem". Highlights of this violently barbaric massacre of Husain, his family, and friends including the newborn baby, in Kerbala are presented briefly by the author in chapter 6.
   
   The author has made a sincere attempt to present the facts by putting together the pieces of the puzzle that exposes the difference between true believers/followers and the opportunists/hypocrites who hijacked the principles of Quran and the morals of Islam for centuries.
   
   Some Shias may not be comfortable with parts of his interpretations. Sunnis, on the other hand will be shocked to see the truth radiating through, as the events unfolded dramatically after the death of Mohammed the Messenger of Allah.



3. This book is a definite eye opener. I recommend this book to every Muslim or non-Muslim with an open mind and a deep understanding of the issues involved. I have read most of the earlier work on the life of Mohammed. This book offers by far the most accurate account of major events that unfolded after the death of Mohammed. The political upheaval amidst the last days of Mohammed's life, are well documented by experts. This book sketches a balanced approach to decipher and extract the motives behind the political battles that raged internally, and the development of a strategy by master planners to select a successor of Mohammed without his input. Is it possible that Mohammed would leave the Muslim community (Umma) without a successor? The answer is no. History stands witness that Ali was his choice and was repeatedly introduced as a successor. The tragic political fallout emerging out of a quick coup d'etat, immediately after Mohammed's demise, was confiscation of the task of leadership from Ali. History, turned sympathetic to the architects of the new regime, and the likes of, Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan and Yazid forged ahead into the fold of Khilafath.
   His presentation style is extraordinary in the sense that he compiles authoritative references and sources universally acceptable, and synchronizes his conclusions. The logical flow of his analyses based on historic facts allows one to discern the realities not presented before.
   Khilafath is Allah's (God's) assigned task on an individual, symbolic to represent piety, and devotion to the principles of Quran and Islam. Khilafath was designed to foster love, freedom and Islamic justice. Assiduous research of the early history of Islam suggests that Khilafath with one exception was obtained through espionage, coercion, intimidation and political trickery.
   Muawiya was a self proclaimed Khalif. Muawiya's mother, Hinda; was popularly known for her promiscuity and barbaric voracity for chewing human liver in a battlefield. His father Abu Sufyan was a bitter enemy of Islam all his life, and fought all wars against Islam. Later when captured, Abu Sufyan begged for mercy and forgiveness of his life from Mohammed.
   Muawiya and his son Yazid acquired Khilafath through despotic means. Yazid, a drunkard and a womanizer who publicly ridiculed Islam and Mohammed was imposed on Muslims as Khalifa. The disenfranchised and morally degraded Muslims were unwilling to accept his Khilafath. Yazid, however, was determined to hang onto it. His immediate response was to seek and obtain allegiance from a major threat, Husain Ibn Ali; grandson of Mohammed, and the rightful inheritor of the title of Khilafath. It is important to note that Husain never claimed Khilafath, yet Yazid needed Husain's endorsement to legitimize his character and Khilafath.
   Husain, the embodiment and enforcer of Quranic and Islamic principles, would never succumb to Yazid's demand for allegiance. With Husain's rejection, the atmosphere became charged for a showdown between the evil and the righteous. The opposing forces exploded on the plains of Kerbala. Islam was in an intensely compelling need to put down this storm of evil with a powerful blow of conviction to reinstate the principles of Islam. Husain achieved this through an "Ultimate Sacrifice" known in Quranic terminology as "Zibhul Azeem". Highlights of this violently barbaric massacre of Husain, his family, and friends including the newborn baby, in Kerbala are presented briefly by the author in chapter 6.
   The author has made a sincere attempt to present the facts by putting together the pieces of the puzzle that exposes the difference between true believers/followers and the opportunists/hypocrites who hijacked the principles of Quran and the morals of Islam for centuries.
   Some Shias may not be comfortable with parts of his interpretations. Sunnis, on the other hand will be shocked to see the truth radiating through, as the events unfolded dramatically after the death of Mohammed the Messenger of Allah.



4. Although this book is an excellent piece of scholarship, and presents a balanced view point, it is not necessarily the best book to use if you are just beginning to learn more about Shia Islam. That is, although the book does provide a brief form of introduction to Shia terminology in its opening chapter, it does assume some general knowledge of Shia Islam and is written much like a history book. Hence, if the reader is very advanced in his knowledge of Shia Islam or looking to the book for information to be used in a scholarly paper or article, this is a great resource.
   
   On the other hand, for Shia parents who are interested in teaching their children more about their religion, and who are at a more elementary level, I would recommend "An Introduction to Shi`i Islam: The History and Doctrines of Twelver Shi`ism" by Moojan Momen as a better starting point. This book has been extremely helpful to many of my friends (of the college and professional school age) who have not necessarily grown up in a household that stresses Shia Islam but who want to learn more about the area. It is also easy enough to read that a high-school aged child should be able to follow it.

No comments about The Divine Guide in Early Shi'Ism: The Sources of Esotericism in Islam.

No comments about The Battle of Karbala (Forgotten Books).

No comments about The Alawite Book (Forgotten Books).

No comments about The Formative Period of Twelver Shi'ism: Hadith as Discourse Between Qum and Baghdad (Culture and Civilisation in the Middle East).

1 comments about The Charismatic Community: Shi'ite Identity in Early Islam (Suny Series in Islam).

1. I was rather intrigued by this book intially , great concept about which there is not much out there in english.Author spends a great deal on time defining words like wilayah and its implications on early shiite thought.
   Totally agree with her perception that early shias did not have such a big problem with the first 2 caliphs and their condemnation was a much later development.And that early sunnis scholars were generally sympathetic to the cause of Ali and his shias.
   Wish she had written more about the events of the first civil war in this book.

1 comments about Religion And Politics in Iraq: Shiite Clerics Between Quietism and Resistance (Contemporary Islamic Scholars).

1. The adoration of "wrong heroes" and a lack of reliable information and knowledge on the major issues in the contemporary Muslim world are among the main problems of today.
   
   The recent Iraq crisis is an extreme example. This book contains a critique and stern condemnation of terror and dictatorship under the Saddam regime. In the author's view, it is the Iraqi people themselves who are to build a democratic and prosperous future for their country.
   
   The author, an established scholar who has lived several years in the Middle and who had 'been until very recently with the Center for Iranian Studies at Columbia University, New York City,recounts the major political developments faced by Iraq's Muslim clerics from the end of the 19th century, under the ailing Ottoman empire, to the 1980s. This crucial period saw fierce internal struggles, foreign intervention and bloody persecution of the political opposition, as well as the emergence of a totalitarian one-party system with absolute control over all sectors of social and religious life. During this period, Baathist Iraq attacked its Muslim neighbours Kuwait and Iran and used poison gas in its "ethnic cleansing" campaign against the Kurds. This book focusses on the dilemma of Iraq's clerics within this setting, caught between political activism and quietism. It addresses also major developments in neighbouring Iran insofar as they had a bearing on Iraq.
   
   Professor Hamid Algar of Berkeley University writes in his foreword :"It is one of the many strengths of Dr. Marcinkowski's book that he analyzes with great skill the intertwining of Iranian and Iraqi history.... [He] is to be commended [...] and congratulated on the result." The present reviewer would like to second Professor Algar, adding that it is the fact-oriented, scholarly, but accessible character of the book which distinguishes it so refreshingly from the myriads of other recent "Iraq books".