Ayatollahs, Sufis and Ideologues : State, Religion and Social Movements in Iraq

by Faleh A. Jabar

• ISBN13: 9780863569128
• ISBN10: 0863569129
• Format: Trade Book
• Copyright: 2002-08-03
• Publisher: Al Saqi

Summary

This book is the first comprehensive study of Islam and Islamism in Iraq. It begins by presenting the multitude of forms and structures of religion present there: from organized religion to the myriad patterns of popular religion, as well as the various Islamist social movements and organizations in existence. All serving social, political and economic functions that are complex and intricate. It also attempts to avoid the oversimplified current views on the nature of Islam and its roles within Iraq, especially with regard to the interplay between ethnicity and religion: the trilogy of Kurds, Shi'is and Sunnis, who presumably lead a strained, antagonistic relationship. While focusing on the unique nature of religion and state-religion tensions in Iraq, the book includes detailed comparisons with other Middle Eastern countries, mainly Iran.

Author Biography

Faleh Jabar is a visiting fellow at the School of Politics and Sociology, Birbeck College, London University. He has written extensively about Iraq and the Middle East. He is the editor of Post-Marxism and the Middle East and Ayatollahs, Sufis and Ideologues: State, Religion and Social Movements in Iraq, both published by Saqi Books.

Table of Contents

Glossary	7	(6)
Introduction	13	(10)
Part One: Religion, Community and State
The Nature of Shi`ism in Iraq	23	(13)
Yitzhak Nakkash
Zghurt and Shmurt: Aspects of the Traditional Shi`i Society	36	(9)
Peter Heine
Kurds, Islam and State Nationalism	45	(16)
Helkot Hakim
Part Two: Institutionalized and Popular Religion versus the State
The Genesis and Development of Marja`ism versus the State	61	(29)
Faleh Abdul-Jabar
The Nature of Confrontation Between the State and Marja`ism: Grand Ayatollah Muhsin al-Hakim and the Ba`th	90	(11)
Pierre-Jean Luizard
The Rituals of `Ashura: Genealogy, Functions, Actors and Structures	101	(13)
Ibrahim Haydari
The Religious Composition of the Kurdish Society: Sufi Orders, Sects and Religions	114	(26)
Sami Shourush
The Origins of the Naqshabandiyya Sufi Order	140	(9)
Helkot Hakim
Part Three: Islamist Social Movements: Genesis, Development, Strategies and Exile
The Da`wa Islamic Party: Origins, Actors and Ideology	149	(13)
Abdul-Halim al-Ruhaimi
The Muslim Brotherhood: Genesis and Development	162	(15)
Basim al-'Azami
Islamist Fundamentalist Movements Among the Kurds	177	(6)
Sami Shourush
The Deportation of Shi`is During the Iran-Iraq War: Causes and Consequences	183	(28)
Ali Babakhan
Iraqi Shi`is in Exile in London	211	(12)
Jens-Uwe Rahe
Part Four: Systems of Thought
Grand Ayatollah Abu al-Qassim al-Kho'i: Political Thought and Positions	223	(8)
Yousif al-Kho'i
The Political Theory of Muhammad Baqir Sadr	231	(14)
Talib Aziz
The School of Najaf	245	(20)
Jawdat al-Qazwini
The School of Qum	265	(18)
Jawdat al-Qazwini
Contributors	283	(2)
Index	285