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Communism and Shia political Islam in the Arab world do not share the same ideological assumptions ; however, they do bear family resemblances, due to their historical relationship – particularly in Iraq and Lebanon – which can be broken down to three time sequences. From the 1950s, communist parties are anchored in marginalized Shia communities : the revolutionary narrative of Marxism and class struggle echoes Shia messianism. In the aftermath of the 1979 Iranian revolution, the dynamic is reversed : the anti-imperialist and eschatological narrative coming from Teheran fascinates the Marxist lefts, and encourages conversions to political Islam. The third sequence opens in the nineties, with the end of the Cold War : since then, Arab communists have displayed a political use of Shiism, that is not religious. By supporting Teheran and the Lebanese Hezbollah, some Arab Marxist activists try to reactivate a neo-thirld-worldist political worldview. Nevertheless, as have the proponents of Shia political Islam, they have abandoned for the moment any revolutionary aspirations.

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In the present study, I will try to understand the role and the place of the body in the Shi’ite popular religiosity, such as it is detectable in Afzâd, a little village of Kerman region (Iran). Does the body represent an obstacle in the individuals’ spiritual life and in their relation to the divine world or, on the contrary, is it of a great assistance?In order to bring an answer, I will begin by analysing the place of the body firstly in the villagers’ religious conceptions on Good and Bad, and secondly in their representations of the other world. If the body does not seem to be in itself a source of sin, it is touched by impurity, becoming a potential obstacle in the relation with the divine, and because of that it will be necessary to study all the implications of this notion. Finally, I will study how the body appears as an important mediator, a fact recognizable firstly in the rituals linked with the Imams’ veneration, and more largely, in other many practices which reach their culminant point in the numerous offerings, exchanges and ritual sharing of food.In conclusion, the body appears to be in the core of the Shi’ite popular religiosity because it plays an important role in the construction of the link with the divine, who may reflect its role in the construction of the social bond, which is so prominent in the little peasant society studied.

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Les premiers traités du Canon druze dont la rédaction remonte au Ve/XIe siècle jettent les bases d’une doctrine religieuse nouvelle et ébauchent succinctement et de manière souvent ambigüe les préceptes moraux, mais aussi juridiques et juridictionnels auxquels les adeptes devaient désormais se soumettre, les lois (šarāʾiʿ) antérieures ayant été abrogées par la Volonté divine. Les savants druzes du IXe/XVe siècle, notamment l’émir al-Sayyid (m. 884/1479) et ses disciples, tentèrent d’expliquer ces traités afin d’établir des principes juridico-religieux adaptés à leur milieu rural et des règles destinées à organiser le fonctionnement interne de la communauté des adeptes. L’historiographie traditionnelle considère toutefois que seul al-Sayyid est l’architecte de ce « renouveau druze » ; par conséquent, elle lui confère le statut de plus grand réformateur druze de tous les temps et lui attribue un ensemble d’écrits théologiques et juridiques que les initiés observent scrupuleusement depuis lors. Or, une lecture critique de ce corpus inédit datant en partie de la fin du IXe/XVe siècle révèle que l’émergence des premières institutions druzes, religieuses et judiciaires, ainsi que la théorisation et la systématisation du droit druze sont postérieures à l’action sayyidienne. The Epistles of the Druze Canon, written in the 5th/11th century, lay down the foundations for a new religious doctrine, and give a brief and sometimes ambiguous outline of the moral, juridical and judicial precepts to which believers should submit henceforth, all previous legal doctrines (šarāʾiʿ) having been abrogated by the divine Will. Premodern Druze scholars, especially the Emir al-Sayyid (d. 884/1479) and his disciples, attempted to explain these canonical treatises with the aim of establishing legal and religious principles adapted to their rural milieu and posing rules designed to organise the community. Traditional Druze historiography considers the Emir al-Sayyid to be the only and greatest Druze reformer of all time, the “architect” of Druze renaissance in sum, and falsely attributes to him a collection of theological and legal writings (the “Great Exegeses”) which are scrupulously applied by religious people up to the present day. However, a critical examination of this unpublished corpus (dating from the latter part of the 9th/15th century) shows however that the Druze legal theory, as well as the first religious and judiciary Druze institutions emerged after the death of al-Sayyid. This article is in French. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article the author delves beneath the surface of Shiite higher education in Britain to discover whether it constitutes a case for ‘European Islam’. Juxtaposing the theorisation of Islam in Europe with a commonly unrelated body of scholarship on education and citizenship, it examines a paradox of integrative blending and foreign frames. Understanding Western Shiite education requires recognition of both local identity and transnational ties, as well as the relationships between them. The author focuses on the Shiite Al-Mahdi Institute and the Islamic College in Britain, analysing on the one hand their local profiles, defined by efforts to engage with their Western environment, and on the other hand their organic foreign embedding, whether through state ties or links to educational and religious establishments. Dumont’s concept of hierarchy as ‘encompassment of the contrary’ is invoked to account for this paradoxical relationship, from which emerges a scale of differences between the two institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The general autonomy of Central European authors from a Western power agenda as postulated by the mainstream critique of Orientalism is well known. At the same time, scholars have paid much less attention to the attitude of the modern Hungarian, Czech, Polish, and Slovenian corpus vis-à-vis Shi'ism, a narrow branch of the subject of Orientalism. This study argues that a certain bias in this context can be identified on the part of regional academics of the twentieth century, which might be explained by personal preferences for Sunni Orthodoxy. Simultaneously, this paper seeks to explore the reasons for such a tendency within the context of specific historical development at the frontiers. To this end, it presents case studies that juxtapose the relevant experiences with the classic Orientalist criticism of Western intellectual life introduced by scholars such as Edward Said, Talal Asad, Joseph Massad, and Mahmood Mamdani. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the socio-political implications of sceptical metaphors in French discourse about the climate crisis. Existing literature has demonstrated the prevalence of religion metaphors in English sceptical discourse. Yet, in France, religious references in language use are limited as such references have been considered "anti-revolutionary" since the storming of the Bastille, in 1789. I thus ask to what extent sceptical metaphors in French climate crisis discourse differ from English sceptical metaphors. To this aim, I conduct a corpus-based study relying on texts published in the extreme-right wing French newspaper "Valeurs Actuelles". The metaphors identified in this corpus are analysed so as to uncover the mini-narratives related to sceptical metaphor scenarios. Consistent with existing literature, the analysis establishes the prevalence of the religion scenario. However, the research highlights significant argumentative exploitations: metaphor users define the source concept according to cultural viewpoints on religion and ideological understanding of the religious lexicon. I demonstrate that religion metaphors prevail because associated source concepts (environmentalism as islam) are not conceived as being part of the domain of religion, according to these (extreme-right-wing) discourse producers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ethnologie Française is the property of Presses Universitaires de France and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Iran is located in a unique geographical position, acting as a bridge among Africa, Europe and Asia, connecting India and Russia in the north–south corridor; connecting Asia and Europe in the East–West corridor; connecting Central Asia, the Caucasus, Turkey and Western Europe in the TRACECA Corridor; connecting Southeast Asia to northwestern Europe in the South Asian Corridor; the link among ECO members as well as Central Asian countries to the high seas and the Persian Gulf is formalized in the Ashgabat agreement. In fact, Iran has been identified as one of the most central geographical nodal points in the world, playing a combination of geopolitical, geo-economic and geo-transit roles in Southwest Asia. The main focal point of the present article is the systematic study of Iran's role in international corridors. This is done from a geopolitical perspective and since research in this area is relatively recent we are submitting this analysis as a starting point for a wider discussion about Iran's role in the new world order which is central to recent studies of the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Kitāb al-Kašf and the Kitāb al-Šaǧara , two 4th/10th century Ismaili works, share a dualistic vision of the world, marked by a continuous struggle between good and evil, light and darkness. Evil is identified with the exoteric religion deprived of its esoteric dimension. It is caused by a satanic pair, typified by Abū Bakr and ʿUmar b. al-Ḫaṭṭāb, the archetypes of the antagonists (aḍdād) opposing the Prophets and their Imams, from Adam to the advent of the Resurrector (al-Qāʾim). Through a personalized reading of selected verses from the Qurʾān, the authors of both works interpret the rejection of ʿAlī's legacy by the first two caliphs as the paradigm of all opposition against the Imām's esoteric knowledge leading to salvation. When ʿUmar represents the principle of evil in se , Abū Bakr stands for the weakness of the largest part of mankind, eager to be induced into error. By introducing into this doctrine the Aristotelian distinction between potentiality and actuality, the Kitāb al-Šaǧara develops an encompassing theory about the dynamics of evil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes some of the main teachings that are attributed to Du 1-Nün al-Misri (died ca 245/859-860), a prominent figure in the formative period of the Sufi tradition. These teachings are reflected in the many sayings that are ascribed to Dü 1-Nün in Sufi literature, in non-Sufi biographical dictionaries, and in several other medieval Islamic sources, all dating from the 4th/ioth century onwards. The article demonstrates the historical problems related to the figure of Du 1-Nün al-Misri, and, in this context, particular attention is given to the occult tendencies that are attributed to him in various writings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates similarities between Vladimir Odoevskii and Fedor Dostoevskii's responses to the modern crisis of identity, a chief concern of both writers. Odoevskii's Schellingian vision of oneness and Dostoevskii's own ideas on unity are placed within a larger framework of the idea of the modern self as articulated by philosopher Charles Taylor and others. For comparison, Odoevskii's presentation of self-transcendence in "The Sylph" is likened to related themes in works by Dostoevskii, particularly "The Dream of a Ridiculous Man." It is found that both authors dramatize the perceived schism between the rational self and intuited higher self that cannot be mended by the analytical reasoning mind, since the latter is seen as the root cause of inner division. In spite of their status as pioneers of Russian realism, both authors present ecstatic vision as the remedial experience through which to gain access to self-knowledge at a transcendent level. The experience of intuitive vision of higher unity in the works examined is expressed by and large in opposition to proponents of rational materialism and positivist views of the modern self. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cet article examine le moda de fonctionnement de l'Etat théocratique safavide iranien à partir du 16ème siècle et les manifestations de la vie culturelle en son sein. Car pour comprendre l'Iran contemporain et la genèse de l'Etat iranien moderne, il importe autant de s'informer au sujet des formes du pouvoir safavide, fanatique et dogmatique, que du chiisme. La brutalité culturelle et l'intolérance religieuse d'hier sont de tragiques inclinations toujours présentes dans Iran d'aujourd'hui. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Le différend de la sexualité en Turquie: Le travail présenté ici porte sur la sexualité comme différend entre sunnites et alévis dans la Turquie contemporaine. Le fort antagonisme entre les tenants de l'islam tel qu'il est sanctionné par l'État et ceux qui y dérogent se structure autour de la discipline et de l'indiscipline sexuelles. Son expression publique la plus violente réside dans une calomnie d'inceste rituel, qui porte sur la liturgie des alévis. Par les mots mum söndü, « la bougie s'est éteinte », les sunnites accusent les alévis de s'adonner, lors de cérémonies nocturnes et secrètes, à des orgies où « père, mère, frère et sœur s'unissent l'un à l'autre ». En retour, ces derniers prônent une plus grande maîtrise des « reins », de même qu'une promiscuité sans trouble des hommes et des femmes. L'analyse de l'institution alévie des musahip, « couples conjoints », et du rituel associé, permet de comprendre comment, en Turquie, la libido et sa maîtrise sont amenées à énoncer la mesure des hommes et des communautés. Partant d'une accusation d'inceste rituel, ce texte explore ainsi la manière dont la sexualité est sollicitée, ou aliénée, pour reproduire une différence confessionnelle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article seeks to illustrate that the depth and extensive capabilities of the Iranian soft power is likely to prevent U.S.'s goal to undermine Tehran's influence in the region significantly. It mentions that the Iran-Iraq War, the Gulf War, and the overwhelming U.S. presence in the region have convinced the Iranian leadership that the Islamic Republic cannot succeed through direct confrontation against its regional adversaries.

Religious knowledge is at the heart of the Shiʿi system of clerical authority known as the marjaʿiyya. Given the multiplicity of more or less well-established claimants to the position, this article explores the scholarly credentials of the contemporary marjaʿ[source of emulation; pl. marājiʿ]. I conceptualize the marjaʿiyya in accordance with Pierre Bourdieu's notion of the field in order to examine how scholarly capital is defined, and possibly redefined, by 14 religious scholars competing in this marjaʿiyya field in Iraq. To do so, I use their 'official' biographies in Arabic and analyze the types of credentials of scholarly capital that are put forth to legitimate the claims of these marājiʿ. I argue that, despite the multiplicity and diversity of contenders, there is a fair degree of homogeneity in the ways scholarly capital is defined. In the biographies, the marājiʿ's scholarly capital is validated against three broad indicators: their inherited scholarly capital, which stems from their family background; their educational capital; and the intellectual-scientific prestige capital derived from their scholarly and teaching activities. The credentials emphasized in the different biographies are generally much alike, and if a marjaʿ does not satisfy them, 'almost-like' credentials are constructed. Abidance to shared codes and practices reflects, as well as contributes to, the stability of the marjaʿiyya field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to situate Jewish individuals from the upper echelons of the Mongol government in Iran and Iraq (1258‒1335) in relation to the process of confessional, Sunnī-Shīʿī polarization. Focusing on the case of the Baghdadi Jewish physician and vizier Saʿd al-Dawla (d. 1291), I explore how the Jewish minister sought to take advantage of Twelver-Shīʿī rise to prominence under the Mongols. I argue that the vizier attempted to strike an alliance with the Shīʿī communities in Iraq and with influential Shīʿī families with long-established ties to the Mongol regime, in order to curtail resistance to his policies and to the Jewish dominance in the realm's bureaucracy. I consider Saʿd al-Dawla's endeavors within the broader historical context of Shīʿī-Jewish relations. The article concludes by examining the two decades following Saʿd al-Dawla's downfall, when a group of eminent Jewish physicians at the Mongol court converted to Islam. I show how these converts continued to exploit the process of politicization of confessional identities under the Mongols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

L'article explore la condition des prostituées réduites au silence par la théocratie iranienne des mollahs, et décrite dans Les putes voilées n'iront jamais au Paradis (2016) de Chahdortt Djavann. A partir du récit de ces prostituées criminalisées par la jurisprudence religieuse, cet article analyse la prostitution comme l'allégorie de la sexualité féminine, et la dynamique qui se joue entre le " surmusulman " (terme de Benslama), la communauté (oumma) et la femme. L'expérience de ces prostituées témoigne de l'anathème jeté sur le corps féminin, objet de désir et de honte. Mais l'appréhension du sexuel expose le paradoxe du " surmusulman " esclave de sa virilité. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A peculiar characteristic of the Islamic civilization is represented by the Prophet’s family (Ahl al-Bayt), whose history spans over 14 centuries and whose members have played at different times and places an important role in the Muslim world. The Prophet’s kinfolk are collectively known either assādat(sing.sayyid) or asashrāf(sing.sharīf). Within this kinfolk, the ‘Alids claim to descend from the Prophet Muhammad through his daughter Fatima and his cousin ‘Ali. It has been argued that the ‘Alids represent a formidable example of the necessity to re-formulate the two categories of ‘centre’ and ‘periphery’ in accordance with the distinctive features of the Islamic civilization. In this respect, Biancamaria Scarcia Amoretti has coined the termscentri dislocati(‘sub-centres’ or ‘centres in the periphery’) andcentro deputato(‘designated centre’) to analyse the role of the ʿAlids as key actors in the dialectical dynamics that define the ‘centre’ and in initiating political, religious and cultural movements or changes. This essay argues for the importance of including ‘Alid women in the human geography framework formulated by Scarcia Amoretti. The case study concerns women of a remarkableʿAlid family of the Shiʿi religious establishment of the Near East, the al-Sadr. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The greatest challenge for the West in dealing with Iran stems not so much from its behaviour in the Middle East, or even its nuclear programme, as from uncertainty about its ultimate strategic goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gendered access to rights of property ownership and its exploitation are linked to explicit and implicit priorities and proclivities of a given society. Considering the situation from an intersectorial perspective and one which takes into account a non-linear long-term historical approach which necessarily includes changes over time which are firmly anchored within historical movements,1 the question of gender-specific prerogatives or lack of them regarding rights of property ownership and its use reveals points of convergence where this type of activity is possible for both women and men. Likewise, this transhistorical approach points to sectors where institutionalized and customary law prohibited, permitted, or favored gender-specific real-estate ownership and its exploitation. Hence, the development of various gendered strategies devised and deployed by women and men in order to gain, retain, or prohibit control over rights of property ownership and exploitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the 6th-century AH, under Seljūq rule, Rayy was a center of learning, attracting many Ḥanafīs as well as Shāfiʿīs, Zaydīs, Imāmīs, and Muʿtazilīs from other regions. Nevertheless, because of the conflicts during that period between Ḥanafīs and Shāfiʿīs, as well as between Shīʿīs and Sunnis, and then the Mongol invasion, only a handful of sources survive describing the activities of the Sunni scholars of Rayy and their relationships with one another and also with the Zaydīs and the Imāmīs. Contrary to expectation, some of the most valuable sources on the Sunnis of this era are writings by Shīʿī authors, one of the most important of which is the Kitāb al-Naqḍ by ʿAbd al-Jalīl al-Qazwīnī al-Rāzī. What emerges from these sources is a portrait of a city in which Zaydīs, Imāmīs, Ḥanafīs, and Shāfiʿīs lived together, albeit in separate quarters of the city, and while their coexistence sometimes erupted into bloody conflict, at the same time their scholars engaged with one another in theological debate, learning, collecting Hadith, and taking part in various rites, including the commemoration of ʿĀshūrāʾ, as described by Qazwinī. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The peculiarity of Kitāb al-Aškāl wa-l-qarāʾin, the opening section in the printed editions of Aḥmad b. Muḥammad al-Barqī's (d. 274/888 or 280/894) Kitāb al-Maḥāsin, is easily discernable: it is sub-divided into chapters bearing numeric titles, from “The Chapter on Three” to “The Chapter on Ten”. Each of these chapters contains various Imamite or prophetic traditions whose message is related in one way or another to the number mentioned in its title. Attempting to shed additional light on the Shiite hadith literature prior to its canonization during the Buwayhid era (334/945-447/1055), this article examines the relationship between style and content within this numerical framework. Being the earliest extant Shiite example of a numerical treatise, the present paper sets out to trace the author's possible sources of inspiration as well as the work's impact on later generations of Shiite scholars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chronology of Ancient Nations mirrors both al-Biruni the polymath and Mongol Iran in its wide calendrical, geographical and historical horizons. The pictorial programme highlights multi-ethnicity, Iranian national sentiment and religion: orthodox and heretical Islam, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism and Christianity (Annunciation and Baptism).1 [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the influence of Islam and Turkey in Central Asia and the Caucasus region (CAC). During the Soviet era, Islamic education continued to make expand its roots in the predominately Turkic republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan. Despite the efforts of the CAC governments to suppress politically troublesome religious organizations and practices, the populations there became increasingly exposed to international Islamist movements.

Whereas medieval Arabic accounts of the genesis of social life and emergence of political authority have received sustained scholarly interest, there has not yet been any systematic attempt to explore the reception of these ideas in the central and eastern Islamic empires during the Early Modern era. The central thrust of this article is to remedy this scholarly neglect and identify the main patterns that informed the evolution of theories about the origin of human society and political authority in a corpus of political writings from the Persian, Timurid, Ottoman, and Indo-Islamic traditions. The article demonstrates that the tension between a naturalistic understanding of social origins and the idea of the ruler as God's representative on earth forms a dominant theme of the political literature produced in the central and eastern parts of the Islamic world. While all the writers canvassed herein appear committed to the divine origins of authority, the article argues that a careful scrutiny of their works reveals a broad spectrum of ideas on the effective ordering of social life, the qualities and conduct expected for successful rulership, and the ways in which a ruler fulfills his role as God's vicar on earth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Over the centuries Zaydīs have been called upon to respond to a series of challenges from within and without to the internal cohesion of their tradition. Noting that Zaydīs did not commonly follow the legal opinions of their eponym Zayd b. Alī (d. 112/740), Sunnī critics challenged them to justify their adoption of the label Zaydī. The classical response was provided by the Yemeni imam al-Manūr Abd Allāh b. amza (d. 614/1217), who explained affiliation to Zayd in theological and political terms. Within Zaydism itself, however, disagreement among leading imams on questions of law occasioned dissent among their followers. To counter this threat to unity within their ranks, Zaydī jurists widely adopted the theory that all qualified legal experts (muğtahids), including the Zaydī imams, were equally correct. More technical were the questions that came to surround the character of the legal school (Mahab) that became dominant among Yemeni Zaydīs. These concerned both the source of the legal opinions that made up the doctrine of the school and the related question of the school's structure of authority. These historical and theoretical questions acquired a particular urgency from the 11th/17th century and were popularized with the circulation of Isāq b. Yūsuf's (d. 1173/1760) short poem, Uqūd al-taškīk, which directly challenged Yemeni Zaydīs to clarify their legal identity. Equally challenged was the structure of authority of all the Sunnī Mahabs, and therefore issues raised here pertain to Islamic law more generally. This poem evoked a variety of responses in prose and verse, including a short treatise by the poem's author, al-Tafkīk li-Uqūd al-taškīk. While several respondents sought to affirm the viability of the legal school, others, notably Ibn al-Amīr al-anānī (d. 1182/1769) and Muammad b. Alī al-Šawkānī (d. 1250/1834), argued that it could not be saved. Their objections to traditional legal authority (taqlīd) within Zaydism were widely disseminated by 19th- and 20th-century Muslim reformers interested in undermining the Sunnī schools of law and continue to enjoy great currency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This study explores the intellectual legacy of the Kūfan jurist Muammad b. Sulaymān al-Kūfī (d. early 4th/10th century) who eventually settled in Yemen and was part of the intellectual circle surrounding al-Hādī ilā l-aqq Yayā b. al-usayn (d. 298/911). It offers an analysis of his most important work, Kitāb al--Muntaab, through a singular ritual law case study that focuses on the use of the basmala in the daily prayer. The conclusion points towards the Muntaab's value as a possible conduit for accessing a stream of Kūfan jurisprudence which has not survived into the modern period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has become standard practice nowadays to begin Morocco's history with the Idrīsids. Today, Idrīs I and Idrīs II can be considered the Moroccan historical figures that are best known to Moroccans. Fez, established by the Idrīsids, remains a central place. The Qarawiyyīn, dating from the Idrīsid era, is the most famous and sacred mosque in the country. Nevertheless, the actual history of the two Idrīses, of the foundation of Fez and of that of the Qarawiyyīn continues to pertain to the realm of traditional collective imagination rather than of the academic discipline of history. This brief study proposes to review again current understandings of the Idrīsids, linking them with some new perspectives that allow for the formulation of new hypotheses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the use of Islam as cultural dialect in Syria in 2000 under the nation's leader Bashar al-Asad. It notes that Islamic symbols and vocabulary were used by Ba'thist regime under Bashar in an attempt to gain legitimacy and popularity among pious Sunni Muslims in the nation. It adds that the growing use of Islamic rhetoric by the regime works in tandem with its efforts to ensure the acquiescence of the Sunni religious establishment for its political and social projects. It explores the efforts of Bashar to reshape Aleppo as the capital of Islamic culture. Also mentioned are vernacular religion and the limits of religious policies of Bashar.

Since the fall of the Ba'athist regime in 2003, the Shi'i religious establishment in Iraq has come to the fore as a signifcant political force, intervening, guiding, supporting and opposing various types of developments. Its prominence has been directly related to the realization that the Shi'a constitute an absolute majority in Iraq and hence would have the primary influence in a democratic state. Alongside the recognition of its importance, some analysts tend to assume that the Shi'a are more inclined than others in Iraq to follow their religious and cultural leadership. This article attempts to clarify a number of issues pertaining to the actual attitudes and relationships between the marja'iyya and politics in Iraq. First, it examines three important approaches to an activist understanding of the role of the marja'iyya in politics and comments on the actual political movements that arise from them. Second, the article analyzes the role of the paramount fgure in the marja'iyya in Najaf, Ayatollah Ali Sistani and his attitudes towards politics and some of his active interventions in Iraqi politics. Finally, it comments on outstanding problems and failures within the leadership of Shi'i politics and the limitations of the marja'iyya in promoting democratic and civic politics. Any political actors in contemporary Iraq must take cognizance of the role of the marja'iyya but also account for the deficits that need to be overcome to propel Iraq beyond a compromise of ethnic and confessional affliations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the political and epistemological positions of Ayatullah Muhammed Misbah Yazdi, the source of emulation of Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad. It suggests that Misbah's arguments were not incoherent, irrational or atavistic response to the condition of modern thought and cites the contrast between Misbah's conclusions and/or prescriptions and the Western visions of a good polity. The shared questions and concerns about modernity that link Misbah with Western critics of modernity are also cited.