Converts and the Remaking of Shi'ism in Italy.

This article aims to investigate the way in which converts contribute to the redefinition of Shi'ism in Italy and to show how that contribution is reshaping Shi'ism in the peninsula. In order to do so, it first provides an overview of the conversion trajectories that undeniably impact converts' relationship with the new religion, with Italian society, and with born Shi'is. It then presents two principal factors that affect converts' approach to Shi'ism. The first is Iran's interest in presenting Shi'ism as a universally compelling religion. The second is the fact that Italian traditionalist intellectuals are attracted to Shi'ism, whose values converge with the ideals of the Italian political far right. We shall see how the synergy between these two factors facilitates the attenuation, or even removal, of the folk and sectarian aspects of Shi'ism in Italy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]