Reaching for Power (ebook)

Argumento de Reaching for Power (ebook)

"Nakash predicted that Iraq could descend into civil war or could lead the way to revolutionary change throughout the Arab world. Unfortunately, the pessimistic view has, to date, proven correct. . . . Nakash has written a book that will be eminently useful for professors and students who want to update the received wisdom that 'real' Islam is Sunni and Shi'i Islam is a minority sect mostly associated with Iran. It is clear that scholars and general readers need to learn more about yet another transformation within the Arab world, and this concise book is the place to start."--Nancy E. Gallagher, Digest of Middle East Studies

"The most significant long-term shift in the Muslim world today is the rise of the Shi'a, a process that has begun in Iraq but will not end there. No one can better explain this upheaval, and what it means for the entire Arab world, than Yitzhak Nakash."--Fareed Zakaria, editor, Newsweek International; author of The Future of Freedom

"Yitzhak Nakash has written a wonderfully lucid and illuminating account of Shi'i history and politics in four Middle Eastern countries. He provides a fine reading of religious ideology and uses the comparative method masterfully. This book is required reading for anyone who hopes to have intelligent views about what is happening in the Islamic world."--Michael Walzer, Institute for Advanced Study; author of Just and Unjust Wars.

"The Shia--long a suppressed minority--are reaching for power in the modern Arab world. It is vital for American policy-makers to understand their history, their suffering, and their aspirations. Yitzhak Nakash's book is an authoritative guide to the Shia Revolution."--Michael Ignatieff, Carr Professor of Human Rights, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

"This is a richly documented book of history and contemporary politics. A work of judicious scholarship, it will be relevant to students and observers of contemporary politics and American foreign policy."--Adeed Dawisha, Miami University, Ohio

"Well-written, timely, and generally accessible. . . . Reaching for Power is timely and highly relevant. It is clearly suitable for a course on Middle East politics, and should make the recommended reading list for policy pundits and US government officials contemplating the future of Iraq."--Lara Deeb, Middle East Journal

Reaching for Power is more than just the best recent introduction to Shi'i politics in the Arab world. By basing his study on mainly Arab sources, he offers a rare insight into the Shi'i political thought and their ways of commemorating their past."--Guido Steinberg, International Affairs

One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2006

"In this quietly optimistic work, Nakash sees Shi'ism as taking a lead in inspiring reform in the Arab world."--Fiona Capp, The Age

"Yitzhak Nakash's book, based on a vast array of sources in Arabic, is a precious guide to understanding the real stakes in the conflicts among different religious and political tendencies in Arab countries."--Gilles Kepel, American Prospect0Preface ix
A Note on Transliteration xiii
Prologue A Shi'i-Led Reformation 1
Chapter 1: The Burden of the Past 16
Chapter 2: Containment Politics in the Persian Gulf 42
Chapter 3: The Struggle for Power in Iraq 72
Chapter 4: The Revival of Shi'ism in Lebanon 99
Chapter 5: Between Aspirations and Reality 129
Conclusion 158
Abbreviations 165
Notes 167
Further Reading 207
Acknowledgments 211
Index 213