The Muslim Religion: The Shia

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the Shia of the Middle East and what they have done to survive in the face of implacable outside hostility. The paper explores the beginning of the Shia/Sunni schism as well as the phenomenon of the "steady state" and what it means for the Shia. The paper further examines the cultural/religious anxiety of the Shia, the cultural distortion suffered, and the cultural revitalization experienced by, this group. Finally, the paepr discusses elements such as communication (on a broad, cultural level), organization, adaptation and cultural transformation (within the context of the Middle East) for Muslims in general.

From the Paper:

"At the same time, the cultural transformation of the Middle East in the last century-plus by the western colonial powers has sparked a powerful re-birth of traditional religious sentiment throughout the Middle East - including Iran (Harman, para.11). The impress of western sensibilities and philosophical doctrines upon the elites was aggressively counter-acted by a new rise in religious commitment. As a result, and this has been the case in Iran since at least the days of Khomeini, Shia Islam has been pushed to the fore because it is (arguably) the most potent means by which the peoples of Iran can express their revulsion at the depredations of foreign powers. Looked at from an anthropological perspective, it may be advanced that the Shia peoples of Iran have made a fetish out of their religious beliefs in order to thwart cultural imperialism - but they (or at least their leaders) have shown enough adaptability to meet the exigencies of turbulent times."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Abdulwaheed Amin, Hussein. "The Origin of the Sunni/Shia Split in Islam." Islam for Today. N.d. Islamfortoday.com. 7 Mar. 2007 <http://www.islamfortoday.com/shia.htm>
• Anjarwalla, Moiz M. "A Brief History of the Shia Muslims." N.d. Moiz M. Anjarwalla. 7 Mar. 2007 <http://www.compsoc.man.ac.uk/~moiz/islam/shiahist.html>
• Harman, Chris. "The Prophet and the Proletariat: Islam, Religion and Ideology." N.d. 7 Mar. 2007 <http://www.marxists.de/religion/harman/pt01.htm>
• "Shia Islam." Country Studies. N.d. Countrystudies.com. 7 Mar. 2007 http://www.country-studies.com/iran/shia-islam.html
• Zakaria, Fareed. "The Long and Hard Road to Reformation." Khaleej Times Online. 8 Feb. 2007. Khaleej Times. 7 Mar. 2007 <http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/opinion/2007/February/opinion_February25.xml&section=opinion&col=>

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