SHI'I SCHOLARS OF NINETEENTH-CENTURY IRAQ by Meir Litvak ( 9780521623568 )

Item Details

Title:

SHI'I SCHOLARS OF NINETEENTH-CENTURY IRAQ
THE 'ULAMA' OF NAJAF AND KARBALA'

By:

Format:

Hardback

List price:	£110.00
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ISBN 10:

0521623561

ISBN 13:

9780521623568

Publisher:

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS

Pub. date:

28 July, 1998

Series:

Cambridge Middle East Studies No. 10

Pages:

272

Description:

Explores the social and political dynamics of nineteenth-century Shi'ism and through this sheds light on modern debates.

Synopsis:

In the nineteenth century, the shrine cities of Najaf and Karbala in Ottoman Iraq emerged as the most important Shi'i centres of learning. In a major contribution to the study of pre-modern Middle Eastern religious institutions, Meir Litvak analyses the social and political dynamics of these communities. Tracing the historical evolution of Shi'i leadership, he explores the determinants of social status amongst the ulama, the concept of patronage, the structure of learning, questions of ethnicity, and financial matters. He also assesses the role of the ulama as communal leaders who, in the face of a hostile Sunni government in Baghdad, were often obliged to adopt a more quietest political stance than their counterparts in Iran. This is an important book which sheds light on the formation of contemporary Shi'ism and the surrounding debates.

Illustrations:

map

Publication:

Imprint:

Cambridge University Press

Prizes:

Winner of British-Kuwait Friendship Society Prize in Middle Eastern Studies

Returns:

Returnable

Some other items by this author:

CONSTRUCTING NATIONALISM IN IRAN