The Shīʻite movement in Iraq / Faleh A. Jabar.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

ʻAbd al-Jabbār, Fāliḥ.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Shiites--Iraq--History--20th century.

Shiites.

Shiites--Political activity--Iraq.

Shiites--Political activity.

Islam and state.

Social movements.

History.

Iraq.

Social movements--Iraq.

Islam and politics--Iraq.

Islam and politics.

Islam and state--Iraq.

Iraq--Politics and government--1958-.

Politics and government.

Physical Description:

391 pages : maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

London : Saqi, 2003.

Summary:

Long oppressed and without any real power despite their majority status, the Shi`is of Iraq have for decades seen their leaders assassinated or exiled and their rituals debased. But they have always constituted a force to be reckoned with, and will play a key role in the reshaping of Iraq. This book is a thorough investigation by one of the foremost experts on the region into the origins and development of Iraqi Shi`ite political activism from the nineteenth century to the present day. Tracing the course of the Shi`is' quest for self-representation, the book shows how their political formation has historically intersected with a variety of religious and geopolitical forces, from Sufism, Wahhabism, the British Mandate and the Faisal monarchy to pan-Arabism and Islamic fundamentalism. As the newly created, oil-rich state of Iraq began to prosper, the Shi`is had to contend with a series of modern-era strongman regimes culminating in the most violent of them all, the Ba`th rule under Saddam Hussein. A new generation of Shi`is attempted to adopt the structures of modernity while holding fast to the principles of Islamic orthodoxy. The various social movements spearheaded by Shi`i religious leaders, the `ulama, are examined in depth along with their power bases, and placed within the context of Shi`ite community dynamics as a whole with a special study of the Arba`in pilgrimage, one of the world's great holy processions.

Almost alone amongst observers of the region, Faleh A. Jabar greatly enlarges our understanding of Shi`ism in its social, cultural, political and economic dimensions, and underscores the fact that Iraq's Shi`is have never constituted the homogeneous group that political analysts have too often insisted upon. Timely and exhaustively researched, this book offers a perspective on the complexities of the Iraqi situation before and after the fall of Saddam Hussein, and is a valuable resource for understanding the active role of the Shi`is in the country's future.

Contents:

Introduction: The US, War and Iraqi Shi`ism 15

The US Perspective 16

The Shi`ite Perspective in Exile 18

The Shi`ite Perspective in Iraq 22

Part 1 State, Nation and Islamism 29

The Literature 32

Theoretical Approaches 33

Major Primary Sources 37

2. Islamism, Fundamentalism, Communalism and the Nation-State 41

The Complexity of the Iraqi Case 41

The Changing Phases of Islamic Response 42

State, Society and Community 52

Part 2 Genesis and Mutation 73

3. The Da`wa Founding Group: Defining the Self (1960-64) 78

The Legitimizing Process 78

4. Social Origins and Actors 95

Beginnings 95

Conflicting Meanings 99

Leadership 100

The Nature of the Initiators 103

The New Generation 104

Social Differentiation 105

5. The Formation of the Jama`at al-`Ulama in Najaf, 1960 110

Senior `Ulama 110

Welfare and Education 113

Adhwa' and the Ideological Battle 114

Schisms and al-Sadr's Retreat 119

Jama`at al-`Ulama and the Islamic Party: Sociopolitical Issues 122

6. The Da`wa Party, 1963-68: From Universalism to Particularism 128

The February 1963 Coups 128

Under `Arif 131

Al-Shibibi's Memorandum 134

The Growth of the Da`wa 137

Part 3 Shi`ite Cultural Spaces: Marja`ism and Popular Rituals 143

7. Sacred Money 146

The Collector of Zakat 147

Defining and Redefining the Khums 148

Rising and Diminishing Returns 150

8. The Transmission of Knowledge: The Traditional Madrasa and its Decline 152

Clash of Institutions 152

Shi`ite Madrasa: The Drive to Autonomy 154

Change and Transformation: The Phase of Decline 154

The Madrasa: Social Group and Social Organization 157

9. The Rise and Centralization of Marja`ism 159

Knowledge and Power: Major Concepts 160

The Social, Cultural and Juristic-Theological Divide: Usuli versus Akhbari 165

Tendencies Towards the Centralization of Marja`ism 169

The Disorder of the Marja` System 171

Attempts at the Institutionalization of Marja`ism: Musa al-Sadr, Baqir al-Sadr, Taliqani and Khomeini 179

10. `Ashura and the Arba`in: Popular Culture and the Politicizing of Redemptive Suffering 185

The Example of Twaireej 186

Local Solidarities, Social Actors 186

Structure of the Muharram Ritual 189

Cultural Cleavage: the Daghara Example 195

The Arba`in Pilgrimage: Pan-Shi`ite Identity 197

Part 4 Shi`ite Islamism and the Ba`th 199

11. From Peaceful Protest to Bloody Confrontation 201

The First Phase: 1968-78 201

Ayatollah al-Hakim versus the Ba`th 202

The Execution of Da`wa Leaders 206

The Marad al-Ras Upheaval, February 1977: Ritual as an Instrument of Mass Politics 208

12. The Particularist-Political Model: The Origins and Structure of the MAI 216

13. Radicalization: 1979-82 225

The Iranian Factor 225

Growing Militancy 227

Crackdown 231

14. The Formation and Development of SAIRI: Coercive Unification, War and Schisms, 1982-90 235

The Formation of SAIRI 235

SAIRI's Structure 239

Strategy and Tactics 249

The Badr Army 253

Repercussions 254

Fracture Lines 255

15. Wartime, the Diaspora and the 1991 Uprisings 264

Iran's Failure 264

War and Nationalism 265

The Invasion of Kuwait 267

The Uprisings 269

Iraq Under Sanctions: Tribes and Religion 271

Part 5 Ideology: Sociopolitical and Economic Doctrines 275

16. Political Theory 277

Reformation: Two Trends 277

Al-Sadr: Liberal Hierocracy 280

Muhammad Bahr al-`Ulum: Liberal Islamism 288

17. Socioeconomic Doctrines 294

New Challenges 294

Al-Sadr: Non-capitalist, Rightful Islamic Distributionism 296

Al-Mudarisi: Cooperative Islam 307

Shirazi: Ethical Laissez-Faire Islam, Halal and Haram 310.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 354-376) and index.

ISBN:

0863569889

0863563953

OCLC:

51569175

Online:

Publisher description