DOCSLIB.ORG

Usuli Shi'ism: the Emergence of an Islamic Reform Movement in Early

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Usuli Shi'ism: the Emergence of an Islamic Reform Movement in Early USULI SHI‘ISM: THE EMERGENCE OF AN ISLAMIC REFORM MOVEMENT IN EARLY MODERN IRAQ AND IRAN by Zackery M. Heern A dissertation submitted to the faculty of The University of Utah in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of History University of Utah August 2011 Copyright © Zackery M. Heern 2011 All Rights Reserved The University of Utah Graduate School STATEMENT OF DISSERTATION APPROVAL The dissertation of Zackery M. Heern has been approved by the following supervisory committee members: Peter von Sivers , Chair 6/28/11 Date Approved Peter Sluglett , Member 7/15/11 Date Approved Bernard Weiss , Member 6/28/11 Date Approved Robert Gleave , Member 6/28/11 Date Approved Michel Mazzaoui , Member 7/12/11 Date Approved Shireen Mahdavi , Member Date Approved and by James R. Lehning , Chair of the Department of History and by Charles A. Wight, Dean of The Graduate School. ABSTRACT Broadly speaking, this is a study in early modern socio-intellectual history. It seeks to trace the inception and development of one of the most powerful Islamic movements of the modern period: Usuli Shi‘ism. I also hope to contribute to a better understanding of the ideology and practice of the Usuli branch of Shi‘i Islam. My underlying argument suggests that the recent ascendancy of Shi‘i Islam is the culmination of a process incepted by Vahid Bihbihani (1706-1792) and his disciples, who revived a rationalist school of Islamic thought in the eighteenth century, which has become known as Usulism. Largely as a result of the Usuli reformation, the Shi‘i clerical establishment has gained unprecedented social, political, and economic power, especially in Iran, where high-ranking clerics (ayatollahs) have established a theocratic government since 1979. I argue that the Usuli revival and reform of Shi‘ism was part of a larger eighteenth century Islamic reformation that resulted from the decentralization and collapse of the early modern Islamic empires (i.e., Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal). Taking this process of political decentralization into account, most historians have argued that the early modern Middle East is best viewed as a period of decline. Rejecting the decline thesis as Orientalist, recent scholars have argued that an Islamic Enlightenment was taking place during this watershed period. Seeking to contribute to this debate, I employ a comparative approach to suggest that Sunni, Sufi, and Shi‘i Muslim scholars revived and reformed their traditions in direct response to the political destabilization of the Islamic world and directly contributed to the establishment of new kingdoms in Saudi Arabia, Libya, and Iran respectively. I also argue that early modern reform movements, including Usulism, Wahhabism, and neo-Sufism, eventually evolved into organizations associated with Islamism or political Islam. This study, then, can be viewed as a case study in the field of modern Islamic movements. My findings are largely based on the writings of the leaders of the Usuli movement, which are primarily written in Arabic and are mostly works in the field of Islamic law. Additionally, I have studied the Arabic and Persian biographical (tabaqat) literature written in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, which extols the founders of the Usuli movement. iv For Mona and Liya my love and my world “If you would understand anything, observe its beginning and its development.” - Aristotle TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................................................x I INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................1 Historiography of Shi‘ism ............................................................................................ 7 Historiography of Early Modern Islam......................................................................... 9 Summary of Chapters ................................................................................................. 12 Political Landscape of the Early Modern Islamic World ........................................... 14 Islamic Movements and the Decline-Enlightenment Debate ..................................... 21 II VAHID BIHBIHANI: AN EIGHTEENTH CENTURY ISLAMIC REFORMER .....25 Transformations in Shi‘ism during the Safavid Period .............................................. 25 Rationalists and Traditionists...................................................................................... 30 Post-Safavid Interregnum and Shi‘ism....................................................................... 32 Vahid Bihbihani and the Usuli Shi‘i Revival ............................................................. 35 A Biography of Vahid Bihbihani................................................................................ 37 Vahid Bihbihani’s Career in Bihbihan........................................................................ 41 Vahid Bihbihani’s Move Back to Karbala.................................................................. 44 Real and Imagined Importance of Vahid Bihbihani ................................................... 55 Why Usulism Prevailed .............................................................................................. 61 III VAHID BIHBIHANI’S DISCIPLES IN IRAQ AND IRAN......................................63 Introduction................................................................................................................. 63 Leadership of Vahid Bihbihani’s Students in Iraq...................................................... 65 Bahr al-‘Ulum........................................................................................................... 65 Kashif al-Ghita’ ........................................................................................................ 68 Mirza Muhammad Mihdi Shahristani....................................................................... 72 Sayyid ‘Ali Tabataba’i (Sahib al-Riyadh) ................................................................ 74 Leadership of Bihbihani’s Students in Iran ................................................................ 77 Mirza Abu al-Qasim Qummi (Sahib al-Qawanin).................................................... 77 Mulla Ahmad Naraqi ................................................................................................ 79 Muhammad Ibrahim Kalbasi .................................................................................... 80 Aqa Sayyid Muhammad Baqir Shafti Isfahani......................................................... 81 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 85 IV THREE SOURCES OF SHI‘I KNOWLEDGE AND AUTHORITY.........................88 Introduction................................................................................................................. 88 Periodization of Shi‘i Thought ................................................................................... 90 Collection of Hadith and Kashf from the Imams:....................................................... 92 c. 700-1000 ................................................................................................................. 92 Establishment of a Rationalist School: c. 1000-1200................................................. 98 Mysticism and New Ijtihad: c. 1200-1600................................................................ 101 Usuli Revival and Shaykhis: 1800-present............................................................... 111 Recent Resurgence of Kashf..................................................................................... 119 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 120 V VAHID BIHBIHANI’S THEORETICAL APPROACH TO ISLAMIC LAW ........123 Introduction............................................................................................................... 123 Bihbihani’s Conception of Legalistic Knowledge (‘ilm).......................................... 125 Four or Five Sources of Usuli Shi‘i fiqh?................................................................. 130 The Qur’an (First Textual Source).......................................................................... 131 Traditions (hadith, Second Textual Source)........................................................... 133 Consensus (ijma‘) ................................................................................................... 137 Reason (‘aql)........................................................................................................... 140 Transference (ta‘diyya) vs. Analogy (qiyas) .......................................................... 143 Authority of Mujtahids ............................................................................................. 154 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 157 viii VI EIGHTEENTH CENTURY ISLAMIC REFORMATION.......................................159 Introduction............................................................................................................... 159 Ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab and the Wahhabi Movement................................................... 163 Ibn Idris and
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Hadith and Its Principles in the Early Days of Islam
    HADITH AND ITS PRINCIPLES IN THE EARLY DAYS OF ISLAM A CRITICAL STUDY OF A WESTERN APPROACH FATHIDDIN BEYANOUNI DEPARTMENT OF ARABIC AND ISLAMIC STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW Thesis submitted for the degree of Ph.D. in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Glasgow 1994. © Fathiddin Beyanouni, 1994. ProQuest Number: 11007846 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 11007846 Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 M t&e name of &Jla&, Most ©racious, Most iKlercifuI “go take to&at tfje iHessenaer aikes you, an& refrain from to&at tie pro&tfuts you. &nO fear gJtati: for aft is strict in ftunis&ment”. ©Ut. It*. 7. CONTENTS Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................4 Abbreviations................................................................................................................ 5 Key to transliteration....................................................................6 A bstract............................................................................................................................7
    [Show full text]
  • Bibliography
    Bibliography Archival Sources Ars¸ivi, Bas¸bakanlık Osmanlı (BOA) FO 195/237; 1841 FO 248/114 India Offi ce G/29/27. In Arabic Afghani, Ahmad al-. Sarab fi Iran: Kalima Sari‘a hawla al-Khumayni wa-Din al-Shi‘a, n.p., 1982. ‘Alawi, Hasan al-. Al-Shi‘a wal-Dawla al-Qawmiyya fi al-‘Iraq 1914–1990, n.p., 1990. Alusi, Shukri al-. al-Misk al-Adhfar, Baghdad: al-Maktaba al-‘Arabiyya, 1930. Alusi, Shihab al-Din Mahmud al-. Al-Tibyan fi Sharh al-Burhan, 1249/1833. Amin, Muhsin al-. A‘yan al-Shi‘a, Sidon, vol. 40, 1957. Bahr al-‘Ulum, Muhammad Sadiq. “Muqaddima,” in Muhammad Mahdi b. Murtada Tabataba’i, Rijal al-Sayyid Bahr al-‘Ulum al-Ma‘ruf bil-Fawa’id al-Rijaliyya, Najaf: n.p, 1967. Din, Muhammad Hirz al-. Ma ‘arif al-Rijal fi Tarajim al-‘Ulama’ wal-Udaba’, Najaf, vol. 1, 1964–1965. Dujayli, Ja‘far (ed.). Mawsu‘at al-Najaf al-Ashraf, Beirut: Dar al-Adwa’, 1993. Fahs, Hani. Al-Shi‘a wal-Dawla fi Lubnan: Malamih fi al-Ru’ya wal-Dhakira, Beirut: Dar al-Andalus, 1996. Hamdani al-. Takmilat Ta’rikh al-Tabari, Beirut: al-Matba‘at al-Kathulikiyya, 1961. Hawwa, Sa‘id. Al-Islam, Beirut: Dar al-Kutub, 1969. ———. Al-Khumayniyya: Shudhudh fi al-‘Aqa’id Shudhudh fi al-Mawaqif, Beirut: Dar ‘Umar, 1987. ———. Hadhihi Tajribati wa-Hadhihi Shahadati, Beirut: Dar ‘Umar, 1988. Husri, Sati‘ al-. Mudhakkirati fi al-‘Iraq, 1921–1941, Beirut: Manshurat dar al- Tali‘a, 1967. Ibn Abi Ya‘la. Tabaqat al-Hanabila, Cairo: Matba‘at al-Sunna al-Muhammadiyya, 1952.
    [Show full text]
  • Fazlallah Astarabadi and the Hurufis
    prelims.046 17/12/2004 4:58 PM Page i MAKERS of the MUSLIM WORLD Fazlallah Astarabadi and The Hurufis “Shahzad Bashir is to be commended for producing a remarkably accessible work on a complex subject; his explanations are models of lucidity and brevity.” PROFESSOR DEVIN DEWEESE, INDIANA UNIVERSITY prelims.046 14/12/2004 1:37 PM Page ii SELECTION OF TITLES IN THE MAKERS OF THE MUSLIM WORLD SERIES Series editor: Patricia Crone, Institute for Advanced Study,Princeton ‘Abd al-Malik, Chase F.Robinson Abd al-Rahman III, Maribel Fierro Abu Nuwas, Philip Kennedy Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Christopher Melchert Ahmad Riza Khan Barelwi, Usha Sanyal Al-Ma’mun, Michael Cooperson Al-Mutanabbi, Margaret Larkin Amir Khusraw, Sunil Sharma El Hajj Beshir Agha, Jane Hathaway Fazlallah Astarabadi and the Hurufis, Shazad Bashir Ibn ‘Arabi,William C. Chittick Ibn Fudi,Ahmad Dallal Ikhwan al-Safa, Godefroid de Callatay Shaykh Mufid,Tamima Bayhom-Daou For current information and details of other books in the series, please visit www.oneworld-publications.com/ subjects/makers-of-muslim-world.htm prelims.046 14/12/2004 1:37 PM Page iii MAKERS of the MUSLIM WORLD Fazlallah Astarabadi and The Hurufis SHAHZAD BASHIR prelims.046 14/12/2004 1:37 PM Page iv FAZLALLAH ASTARABADI AND THE HURUFIS Oneworld Publications (Sales and editorial) 185 Banbury Road Oxford OX2 7AR England www.oneworld-publications.com © Shahzad Bashir 2005 All rights reserved Copyright under Berne Convention A CIP record for this title is available from the British Library ISBN 1–85168–385–2 Typeset by Jayvee,
    [Show full text]
  • Reconciling Islam and Modernity the Role of Ayatollah Khomeini in Shaping Iranian Discourses on Islam and Democracy
    Reconciling Islam and Modernity The Role of Ayatollah Khomeini in Shaping Iranian Discourses on Islam and Democracy Adam Lewis Religion Senior Thesis Haverford College May 2010 Adviser: Supriya Gandhi Table of Contents Acknowledgements iv Abstract v Introduction 1 CHAPTER I Imagining a Role for Islam in the Public Sphere The Political Thought of Ayatollah Khomeini 5 CHAPTER II The Unexpected Underpinnings of a Theocratic Vision The Mystical Thought of Ayatollah Khomeini 28 CHAPTER III The Standard Bearers of a Progressive Islamic Project Iranian Discourses on Islam and Democracy 41 Conclusion The Increasingly Global Implications of Iranian Reform 65 Bibliography 67 Acknowledgements For my family who has given me unending educational opportunities and the unconditional support that has allowed me to take advantage of them to the fullest. For Lauren, for patiently listening to my “inspired” epiphanies about Ayatollah Khomeini and my desperate rants about the thesis I thought I would never finish. For the baseball team who has made sure I haven’t made it through a single day of the semester without having at least a little fun. And lastly, for the Haverford Professors who have challenged and inspired me over the past four years. I hope that this project serves as a testament to your labors as well as mine. iv Abstract This thesis attempts, through an analysis of Ayatollah Khomeini’s political thought, to show the way in which the widely accepted western caricature of the late Iranian leader as “backward” and “fundamentalist” masks the complexities of his political philosophy and of his legacy as a political and religious leader.
    [Show full text]
  • Sunni – Shi`A Relations and the Implications for Belgium and Europe
    FEARING A ‘SHIITE OCTOPUS’ SUNNI – SHI`A RELATIONS AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR BELGIUM AND EUROPE EGMONT PAPER 35 FEARING A ‘SHIITE OCTOPUS’ Sunni – Shi`a relations and the implications for Belgium and Europe JELLE PUELINGS January 2010 The Egmont Papers are published by Academia Press for Egmont – The Royal Institute for International Relations. Founded in 1947 by eminent Belgian political leaders, Egmont is an independent think-tank based in Brussels. Its interdisciplinary research is conducted in a spirit of total academic freedom. A platform of quality information, a forum for debate and analysis, a melting pot of ideas in the field of international politics, Egmont’s ambition – through its publications, seminars and recommendations – is to make a useful contribution to the decision- making process. *** President: Viscount Etienne DAVIGNON Director-General: Marc TRENTESEAU Series Editor: Prof. Dr. Sven BISCOP *** Egmont - The Royal Institute for International Relations Address Naamsestraat / Rue de Namur 69, 1000 Brussels, Belgium Phone 00-32-(0)2.223.41.14 Fax 00-32-(0)2.223.41.16 E-mail [email protected] Website: www.egmontinstitute.be © Academia Press Eekhout 2 9000 Gent Tel. 09/233 80 88 Fax 09/233 14 09 [email protected] www.academiapress.be J. Story-Scientia NV Wetenschappelijke Boekhandel Sint-Kwintensberg 87 B-9000 Gent Tel. 09/225 57 57 Fax 09/233 14 09 [email protected] www.story.be All authors write in a personal capacity. Lay-out: proxess.be ISBN 978 90 382 1538 9 D/2010/4804/17 U 1384 NUR1 754 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the permission of the publishers.
    [Show full text]
  • The Status of Theology and Theologian in Islam Islam in Theologian and Theology of Status The
    theologians. Keywords: theology (Kalam), Islamic sciences, philosophy, doctrinal arena. holy infallible Imams to undertake the defense of religious beliefs in of the high position of theologians who, in addition, were urged by nobility of Kalam as genuine Islamic science a mention is to be made of knowledge with other religious sciences. Due to the importance and sciences, shedding light on the relation of this doctrinal-religious field role of Kalam in preparing the ground for the rise of other religious doubts. It is in this way that some knowledge is reached on the crucial grounded arguments in answering questions and removing doctrinal distinctive role the defense of holy status of religion through well- role of this religious science and those engaged in it, showing as its the field of Islamic thought and explain the constructive and decisive This article is intended to introduce Islamic theology (Kalam) in Abstract Faculty member of Research Center of Islamic Studies Abdollah Ebrahimzadeh Amoli The Status of Theology and Theologian in Islam 3 Vol 2, Summer 2010, Serial. No. 4 existentiation, manifestation, receptivity, reception. mystery of predestination, mystery of the mystery of predestination, Keywords: determinism, free will, intermediate position, will, the positions taken by Mu tazilites, Asha rites and philosophers. ‛ ‛ some others he puts the position of mystics in opposition to the Arabi explicitly rejects both determinism and “utterly free will” and in position” has the same meaning. In some of his statements Ibn Al- proximate and remote agents. To Ibn Al-Arabi the “intermediate also not the same as vertical agency and attribution of events to receptive, not based on mere separation of agent and receiver.
    [Show full text]
  • Manifestation of Religious Authority on the Internet: Presentation of Twelver Shiite Authority in the Persian Blogosphere By
    Manifestation of Religious Authority on the Internet: Presentation of Twelver Shiite Authority in the Persian Blogosphere by Narges Valibeigi A thesis presented to the University of Waterloo in fulfilment of the thesis requirement for the degree of Master of Arts in Sociology Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 2012 © Narges Valibeigi 2012 Author’s Declaration I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. Narges Valibeigi ii Abstract Cyberspace has diversified and pluralized people’s daily experiences of religion in unprecedented ways. By studying several websites and weblogs that have a religious orientation, different layers of religious authority including “religious hierarchy, structures, ideology, and sources” (Campbell, 2009) can be identified. Also, using Weber’s definition of the three types of authority, “rational-legal, traditional, and charismatic” (1968), the specific type of authority that is being presented on blogosphere can be recognized. The Internet presents a level of liberty for the discussion of sensitive topics in any kind of religious cyberspace, specifically the Islamic one. In this way, the Internet is expanding the number and range of Muslim voices, which may pose problems for traditional forms of religious authority or may suggest new forms of authority in the Islamic world. The interaction between the Internet and religion is often perceived as contradictory, especially when it is religion at its most conservative practice. While the international and national applications of the Internet have increased vastly, local religious communities, especially fundamentalists, perceived this new technology as a threat to their local cultures and practices.
    [Show full text]
  • Comparative Comparison Between the Characters of Jamie's Tale Of
    Advances in Language and Literary Studies ISSN: 2203-4714 www.alls.aiac.org.au Comparative Comparison Between The Characters of Jamie’s Tale of (Salamon & Absal) and Avicenna ’s Hayy Ebn Yaqzan and Andalusian Ebn Tofeyl’s Hayy Ebn Yaqazan Mehdi Ebrahimi Hossein Ali Kennedy1*, Ali Asghar Halabi2 1Department of Persian Language and Literature, Islamic Azad University Central Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran 2Islamic Azad University Central Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran Corresponding Author: Mehdi Ebrahimi Hossein Ali Kennedy, E-mail: [email protected] ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article history Brilliant models of allegory and secretive tales are observable in mystical and philosophical Received: January 28, 2017 works of Persian literature in verse and prose. Avicenna is the first person who has written Accepted: August 19, 2017 the philosophical tale of Hayy Ebn Yaqzan in mystical clothing and symbolic style. In this Published: August 31, 2017 philosophical and symbolic epistle, Avicenna has represented evolution stages of human in request of hidden secrets and sublime insight and spiritual life, and in travers of behavior stages Volume: 8 Issue: 4 he became aware of the truth that there is a spiritual life other than corporeal life. Therefore Advance access: August 2017 he is guided to spiritual world by sense and by the help of active wisdom. Then Andalusian Ebn Tofeyl has combined Avicenna ’s tales of Hayy Ebn Yaqzan and Salamon & Absal and Conflicts of interest: None recompiled it in a symbolic form and wrote it out with philosophical array. In this tale Hayy Ebn Funding: None Yaqzan was grown alone in an island and he was attracted by comprehension and perception of the reality by external senses, recognition of palpable worlds and by discovery.
    [Show full text]
  • Islamic Ethics in Australian Muslim Everyday Life: a Shi’Ite Perspective Mohamad Younes
    Islamic Ethics in Australian Muslim Everyday Life: A Shi’ite Perspective Mohamad Younes Master’s Thesis in Sociology Spring Term 2017 Humanities and Communication Arts Western Sydney University 1 17481784 Mohamad Younes 2 17481784 Mohamad Younes ABSTRACT Despite the strong emphasis on ethics within the Islamic tradition, Islamic ethics itself is scarcely represented as a discipline within academic scholarship (Ansari 1989). Even within this area, Islamic ethics have predominantly been studied from Sunni perspectives, with little attention being paid to Shi’ite or other minority understandings. This thesis will, therefore, use qualitative data collection methods of semi-structured in-depth interviews and focus groups, to sociologically study the perceptions, understandings, and applications of Islamic ethics in Australian Shi’ite Muslim everyday living. It will investigate the overarching understanding of Islamic ethics and its specific application in Australian Shi’ite Muslim context. The project's objective, therefore, is twofold: one to strengthen Islamic ethics as an independent discipline; and two to address the scant attention Shi’ite Islamic ethics has received in Islamic ethics scholarship generally. Conceptually, this project will contribute to the understanding of Islamic ethics through a particular analysis of Shi’ite Islamic ethics in an Australian Shi’ite context. This is significant as specific understandings of Islamic ethics in certain contexts help to explain how minority groups such as Shi’ite Muslims develop their own ethical standards to shape social relations in society. In addition, this thesis argues for Shi’ite Islamic ethics to be highly Imamate based; that is, very reliant on the actions and sayings of 12 divinely guided Imams (leaders).
    [Show full text]
  • 3 Al-Farabi, Avicenna, and Averroes in Hebrew: Remarks on the Indirect Transmission of Arabic-Islamic Philosophy in Medieval Judaism
    3 Al-FArAbi, AvicennA, And Averroes in Hebrew: remArks on tHe indirect trAnsmission oF ArAbic-islAmic PHilosophy in medievAl JudAism James T. Robinson erhaps as early as the eighth century, in the Islamic East, the traditional Sanskrit tales about the Buddha’s enlightenment—about his recognition of his own mortality and training with an ascetic monk—were translated into Persian and Arabic. The Arabic version, entitled Bilawhar wa-Būdhāsaf, then served as Pthe basis for renderings into Georgian, Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and a long list of European vernacular languages.1 These renderings were, more often than not, not straightforward translations but adaptations, often introducing significant modifications into the frame narrative. The Greek version, for example, transformed Bilawhar—an ascetic teacher—into Barlaam, a saintly Christian monk, and his disciple Budasaf or Yudasaf—the Buddha—into Joasaph or Josaphat, a saintly Christian Neophyte.2 The Hebrew version is no less surprising than the Greek, when Bilawhar be- comes not a Jewish sage but a Neoplatonic philosopher, and his 1 For the Arabic and Persian versions, see D. Gimaret (1972); D. Gimaret (1971). See also S. M. Stern and S. Walzer (1971). For the Georgian and Greek versions, see: D. M. Lang (1957), idem (1966); John Damascene (1914). The Hebrew version was edited by A. M. Habermann (1951), with extensive apparatus and commentary. For the vernacular versions, see most recently the studies of the German and English versions: S. Calomino (1990); K. Ikegami (1999). 2 In fact, both Barlaam and Joasaph/Josaphat became Christian saints. 60 The Judeo-Christian-Islamic Heritage final lesson to his young disciple is not a lesson in religious prac- tice but an introduction to neoplatonic metaphysics, based on the Arabic versions of Plotinus—namely, that complex of texts associated with the Theology of Aristotle.3 This is one example of the indirect transmission of Greek and Arabic philosophy in medieval Judaism.
    [Show full text]
  • The Emergence of Modern Shi'ism: Islamic Reform in Iraq and Iran
    ajiss34-3-final_ajiss 8/16/2017 1:01 PM Page 135 Book Reviews 135 The Emergence of Modern Shi‘ism: Islamic Reform in Iraq and Iran Zackery Heern London: Oneworld Publications, 2015. This is the first comprehensive work on the origins, development, and socio- political ramifications of the Usuli movement within Twelver Shi‘ism. Given that Wahid Bihbahani (1709-91), the founder and catalyst for Usuli revivalism during the nineteenth century, is barely known in the West, it is a welcome ad - dition to the growing Western literature on medieval and modern Shi‘ism. This ongoing movement is the most powerful force in Twelver Shi‘ism. Using a wide range of primary and secondary sources, Heern highlights the emergence of modern Usulism during the eighteenth and nineteenth cen - turies. While locating its genesis within a global context, he outlines its ideo - logical roots, historical background, and development. His central argument is that Usulism was a response to the ummah’s changing sociopolitical conditions and part of a wider trend of Islamic reform and revivalist movements that began in the eighteenth century. He maintains that its emergence enabled the Shi‘i clerical establishment to attain sociopolitical and economic ascendancy in Iran and Iraq, and that the movement survived without government patronage by cultivating transnational links with the Shi‘i laity. For him, Shi‘i Islam’s recent ascendancy is the result of the neo-Usuli movement. Comparing the Usuli movement to the Enlightenment or the Great Awak - ening (p. 22), as he does, is to mischaracterize it. Similarly, to call it a reform movement in the usual sense of the word is misleading.
    [Show full text]
  • Iraq's Muqtada Al-Sadr
    IRAQ’S MUQTADA AL-SADR: SPOILER OR STABILISER? Middle East Report N°55 – 11 July 2006 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS................................................. i I. MUQTADA’S LINEAGE .............................................................................................. 1 A. MUHAMMAD BAQIR AL-SADR: THE REVOLUTIONARY THINKER AND “FIRST MARTYR” ......2 B. MUHAMMAD SADIQ AL-SADR: THE PLEBEIAN ACTIVIST AND “SECOND MARTYR”............3 C. MUQTADA AL-SADR: THE UNLIKELY HEIR .........................................................................6 II. MUQTADA’S STEEP AND SWIFT LEARNING CURVE....................................... 7 A. FROM CONFRONTATION TO DOMINANT PRESENCE................................................................7 B. TRIAL AND ERROR: THE FAILURE AND LESSONS OF RADICALISATION ................................10 C. MUQTADA’S POLITICAL ENTRY ..........................................................................................12 III. THE SADRIST MOVEMENT: AN ATYPICAL PHENOMENON ....................... 17 A. MUQTADA’S POLITICAL RESOURCES...................................................................................17 B. AN UNSTRUCTURED MOVEMENT ........................................................................................20 IV. THREE POTENTIAL SOURCES OF CONFLICT ................................................. 21 V. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................. 24 APPENDICES A. MAP OF IRAQ ......................................................................................................................25
    [Show full text]