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Sunni-Shi'i relations have undergone significant transformations in recent decades. The 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran had a major spill-over effect on the entire Middle East, and the 2003 war in Iraq transformed the Shi'is into the dominant force in Iraq. The emergence of Iran as a regional power following Saddam Husayn's removal, along with the weakness of the Arab state system, raised the specter of the "Shi'i Crescent" threatening Sunni-Arab domination in the region.
The present volume demonstrates the complexity of Sunni-Shi'i relations by analyzing political, ideological, and social encounters between the two communities from early Islamic history to the present. While analyzing specific case studies in various Middle Eastern regions, the book provides a panoramic picture ranging from hostility to efforts of cooperation and ecumenism.
E-Book Content
The Sunna and Shi‘a in History
The Sunna and Shi‘a in History Division and Ecumenism in the Muslim Middle East
Edited by Ofra Bengio and Meir Litvak
THE SUNNA AND SHI‘A IN HISTORY
Copyright © Ofra Bengio and Meir Litvak, 2011. All rights reserved. First published in hardcover in 2011 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN: 978–1–137–48558–8 The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows: The Sunna and Shi‘a in history : division and ecumenism in the Muslim Middle East / edited by Ofra Bengio and Meir Litvak. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978–0–230–12092–1 (alk. paper) 1. Shi’ah—Relations—Sunnites. 2. Sunnites—Relations— Shi’ah. 3. Shi’ah—Iraq—History. 4. Sunnites—Iraq— History. I. Bengio, Ofra. II. Litvak, Meir. BP194.16.S855 2011 297.8⬘04209—dc23
2011017424
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by MPS Limited, A Macmillan Company First PALGRAVE MACMILLAN paperback edition: December 2014 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Acknowledgments Introduction Ofra Bengio and Meir Litvak 1 Responses to Unwanted Authority in Early Islam: Models for Current Shi‘i and Sunni Activists Jacob Lassner 2 Early Hanbalism and the Shi‘a Nimrod Hurvitz 3 The Confrontation between Sunni and Shi‘i Empires: Ottoman-Safavid Relations between the Fourteenth and the Seventeenth Century Max Scherberger 4 Encounters between Shi‘i and Sunni ‘Ulama’ in Ottoman Iraq Meir Litvak 5 The Ottoman Dilemma in Handling the Shi‘i Challenge in Nineteenth-Century Iraq I˙smail Safa Üstün 6 Religious Extremism and Ecumenical Tendencies in Modern Iraqi Shi‘ism Amatzia Baram 7 Quietists Turned Activists: the Shi‘i Revolution in Iraq Ofra Bengio 8 The Sunni-Shi‘i Struggle over Lebanon: A New Chapter in the History of Lebanon Eyal Zisser
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Contents
9 The Wahhabiyya and Shi‘ism, from 1744/45 to 2008 Guido Steinberg 10 Unity or Hegemony? Iranian Attitudes to the Sunni-Shi‘i Divide Ze’ev Maghen 11 Debating the “Awakening Shi‘a”: Sunni Perceptions of the Iranian Revolution Meir Hatina 12 Interesting Times: Egypt and Shi‘ism at the Beginning of the Twenty-First Century Rainer Brunner Epilogue: The Sunni-Shi‘i Paradox Ofra Bengio and M