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Shia Revival

3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 · rating details · 655 ratings · 88 reviews

The Shia Revival is a historical account of sectarian conflicts in the Muslim world, and how the future rests in finding a peaceful solution to the ancient rivalries between the Shias and the Sunnis. Nasr provides an understanding of this 1,400-year bitter struggle between the two sects - tracing its roots from the succession of the Prophet Muhammad - forcing us to differe...more

Hardcover, 304 pages

Published September 5th 2006 by Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc. (first published 2006)

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Nov 17, 2008 Valerie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone confused about Islam & current ME political conflicts

Shelves: middle-east, central-asia, 2008-2009-dc

The first chapter of this book is the single best explanation I have ever seen explaining the distinction between Shias and Sunnis. Nasr has performed a valuable service in writing this book. Most explanations reduce the Shia/Sunni distinction to a mere theological point, rendering both sides foolish in the telling. Nasr explains the economic, political, and often ethnic differences that gave rise to such passionately held ideological differences. And he does so in an easy-to-read, captivating a...more The first chapter of this book is the single best explanation I have ever seen explaining the distinction between Shias and Sunnis. Nasr has performed a valuable service in writing this book. Most explanations reduce the Shia/Sunni distinction to a mere theological point, rendering both sides foolish in the telling. Nasr explains the economic, political, and often ethnic differences that gave rise to such passionately held ideological differences. And he does so in an easy-to-read, captivating account.

Chapter 2 does a terrific job of refuting any monolithic understanding of the categories laid out in Chapter 1. Chapter 3 describes the role of Arab nationalism in fomenting organized Shia dissent (think Hezbollah). Chapter 4 describes Khomeini's success as the basis for global Shia empowerment--and organization, strategy and money. I also recommend Ch. 7, an account of current events in Iraq.

However, as at least one other reader has pointed out, Nasr’s insistence that the Shia/Sunni split is THE defining political dichotomy should be balanced by other perspectives. And I must agree with others, too, that Nasr’s portrayal of the victimized Shias is harder to sympathize with in the face of Iran, Hezbollah, etc. And yet, of course, historically, Shias certainly have been political and economic outcasts.

If you only read the first half of the book though, you may be left with the (bizarre) impression that Sunni prejudice against Shias generally, and Iranians specifically, functioned for the last 50 yrs or so as a geopolitically stabilizing force.

So you must push through to the afterword, which I can only refer to as his "American idealism" chapter, in which he insists that "democracy" and US "commitment to genuine political reform" in the region will ultimately prevail.

Given the violence of the Sunni backlash in response to Shia ascendancy, it is hard to see how ideas like "democracy" can have much effect on stabilizing the Middle East. Yet Nasr points to subtle changes within Iran as one indication that they can. It is difficult in the extreme, given the shape of the Saudi govt., to name but one example, to imagine regional "political reform" as a solution. And yet I don't suppose there is any other option.(less)

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Apr 23, 2012 Ron rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction

This is an illuminating perspective on current Middle East politics by an Iranian-born and U.S. educated writer, who has credentials as a member of the faculty at the Naval Postgraduate School and associate chair of research at the Department of National Security Affairs. The overall argument of his book is that the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the war in Iraq have set in motion the reversal of an age-old balance of power between Sunni and Shia Muslims in the Middle East. After a millennium or...more This is an illuminating perspective on current Middle East politics by an Iranian-born and U.S. educated writer, who has credentials as a member of the faculty at the Naval Postgraduate School and associate chair of research at the Department of National Security Affairs. The overall argument of his book is that the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the war in Iraq have set in motion the reversal of an age-old balance of power between Sunni and Shia Muslims in the Middle East. After a millennium or more of sometimes brutal suppression by Sunni Arabs, Shias are experiencing a "revival" that will fundamentally change the political structure of the Muslim world.

Written chiefly for the lay reader, the book helps non-Muslims understand both the historical and cultural differences that separate these two branches of Muslim faith. It charts the existence of the divide between them over the centuries, finally focusing on the years since WWI, and the deepening animosities that have found expression in the bloody excesses of Islamist fundamentalism, which Nazr attributes primarily to Sunni rage at losing political power and influence to Shias, whose center of power in the region is now Iran. Meanwhile, the American-led invasion of Iraq and its resulting democratization is seen as a handing over of that formerly Sunni-dominated country to its Shia plurality. Civil war in Iraq, as the situation is described by Nazr, seems not to have been the effect of American bungling, but an inevitable outcome of regime change. Nazr describes the scenario being played out at the time of writing as that of democracy-embracing Shias being targeted by various terrorist groups committed to murder and mayhem in the effort to not only return ascendancy to Sunnis, but wipe out Shia Muslims once and for all.

There is a Shia-Persian bias throughout the book, and Sunni Arab political analysts would no doubt offer another view of the people and events Nazr discusses. However, they may be in agreement on one subject - the character and aspirations of Ayatollah Khomeini, whom Nazr characterizes as a political opportunist with a self-aggrandizing agenda that put him briefly near the center of the world stage but left him finally as something of a walk-on in a very different kind of unfolding Shia drama.

Nazr's prognosis for the future is not encouraging. He sees continued bloodletting and violence and the potential for armed conflict to emerge elsewhere, notably in Saudi Arabia, but he believes that a Shia world view will eventually triumph in the Middle East. As an introduction to the subject, this book may be heavy-going for some readers. Though highly readable, it is packed with information and analysis. With such a large cast of characters and political groups, it's sometimes necessary to flip back to the index for help. But the book is definitely worth reading for its insight and perspective on the complexities of the Middle East.(less)

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Oct 31, 2009 Steven Peterson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is an accessible and useful volume for those who want to know more about what is at stake with the Shia versus Sunni disputes. At the outset, the author, Vali Nasr, notes that (page 20): "The Shia-Sunni conflict is at once a struggle for the soul of Islam. . .and a manifestation of the kind of tribal wars of ethnicities and identities, so seemingly archaic at times, yet so surprisingly vital, with which humanity has become wearily familiar."

The volume begins with a description of the separ...more

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Aug 22, 2012 Mike Lindgren rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction

Dan Mayland's assignation for the second annual Men's Book Club is this staggeringly tedious account of the history and politics of the Shia branch of Islam, unreadable except by specialists, academics, and people with seriously way too much time on their hands. A particularly irritating choice given that my father and I, like all educated, middle-class liberals, are in theory in favor of learning about different cultures, religions, blah blah blah, and are thus trapped by our own good conscienc...more

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Jul 26, 2011 Julian Haigh added it · review of another edition

This is obviously from the Shia perspective, but in my limited-knowledge opinion (which I'd argue we all speak from) I'd say calling Khomeini the Sunnification of Shiism went a little far. Basically, the author appeared to back-peddle from his established opinion that Shia was the democratic and modernist alternative to a backward, fundamentalist Sunniism. Of course Khomeini is Shia and there was a Safavid empire based in Iran - but he tries to take what would be scary to the west and label it S...more

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Aug 24, 2009 Nicholas Reith rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Though this book has it's flaws in scholarship, for example:
-Lack of Arabic sources
-Lack of balance leaning obviously toward a Shia perspective

it does provide a much needed and refreshingly different look at politics and history in the Middle East. Having been a student of "Arab studies," at one of the more progressive University departments devoted to the subject, it amazed me to finally open my eyes, reading this book, and realize how much the American and Western view of the region, even that...more

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Aug 08, 2011 Nura Yusof rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The sectarian conflict that has taken and is taking place in the Middle East is certainly not what the Prophet had in mind in propagating Islam, in my opinion.

Are the Shia, Muslims? Are the Sunnis right? Honestly, no one knows. Instead, we have both groups, each trying to out-shout each other, saying that theirs is the true Islam. And most often, by violent means.

What a waste of time and resources. They are sitting on huge deposits of oil which could greatly help them build their countries and...more

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Mar 14, 2009 Jess rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own

Nasr's basic argument is that Shi'a are becoming more politicized for two reasons:
1) Sunni fundamentalism supercharges the salience of Shi'a identity throughout the Muslim world
2) The war in Iraq provides an example of what democracy can do for Shi'a populations.

Though he draws a pretty grim outlook from this, I think his fundamental analysis is pretty lacking. He relies too heavily on US intelligence reports and, in my opinion, misjudges the spillover affect in Iran.

Still, the first chapter's e...more

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Jul 22, 2008 Mustafa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Interesting central hypothesis about how the position of Shiites within the Muslim world is changing, but wasn't overly impressed with his argument. Too much of it felt a bit anecdotal.

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Jan 18, 2009 John rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 20th-century-history, history-of-religion, islam

In spite of its obviously pro-Shia bias, which many other readers have also noted, this is a superb book; I cannot imagine a better introduction to the current sectarian religious strife in the Middle East and Central Asia, nor to the general theological as well as political differences between Shia and Sunni believers. In fact, it's hard to imagine a better introduction to the history and theology of Islam, period. Nasr achieves what I think I most admire in a writer of this sort of study, mana...more

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Jun 04, 2008 Ed rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: afghanistan

Dealing with the Middle East without understanding the very basic differences between the Sunni and Shia branches of Islam would be like trying to bring peace to Northern Ireland while remaining ignorant of the divisions between Protestant and Catholic Christians.

Vali Nasr writes very well. His brief survey of the theological, geographic and class based differences between the two major sources of Islamic thought is clear and (it seems) very precise.

This book will go a long way in helping one...more

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Jun 10, 2008 Ben rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Ben by: Max Gasteen

This book basically has two parts and both are very informative. The first part is a sort of history or introduction to the Shias, who they are, and how they fit in the middle east vis-a-vis the Sunnis. The second part of the book is less historical, more of an analysis of the current situation along with thoughts on how the middle east is shaping up and what the rise of the Shias (and, the rise of Iran's influence - read influence, not domination or control) could do to change the region.

It app...more

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Feb 05, 2008 Alif Fikri rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: politics

Kalau seorang editor New York Times mengatakan buku ini memiliki plot yang cepat, mengikat, dan menegangkan, saya rasa itu bukanlah suatu hal yang berlebihan.

Pertama kali saya lihat buku ini awalnya selain karena judul bukunya adalah karena nama "Nasr" memiliki tempat tersendiri. Setelah membaca sinopsisnya, saya langsung mencari tahu siapa "Nasr" yang satu ini. Ternyata dugaan saya benar, singa melahirkan singa. Nasr di sini adalah putra seorang intelektual ternama dari Iran, Seyyed Hussein Na...more Kalau seorang editor New York Times mengatakan buku ini memiliki plot yang cepat, mengikat, dan menegangkan, saya rasa itu bukanlah suatu hal yang berlebihan.

Pertama kali saya lihat buku ini awalnya selain karena judul bukunya adalah karena nama "Nasr" memiliki tempat tersendiri. Setelah membaca sinopsisnya, saya langsung mencari tahu siapa "Nasr" yang satu ini. Ternyata dugaan saya benar, singa melahirkan singa. Nasr di sini adalah putra seorang intelektual ternama dari Iran, Seyyed Hussein Nasr. Ini pertama kalinya saya membaca tulisan sang putra, Vali Nasr.

Buku ini memaparkan konflik antar sekte dalam Islam yang telah berlangsung hampir seiring dengan masa yang telah dilalui oleh Islam itu sendiri. Berawal dari sebuah konflik politik hingga akhirnya mencuat pada konflik teologis yang tidak sekedar mengalirkan keringat para ulama dari kedua sekte (Sunni dan Syi'ah) namun juga tak jarang mengalirkan darah dari kedua sekte. Penulis memaparkan bagaimana konflik dan intrik yang terjadi antara dua sekte ini sejak pertama kemunculannya hingga era abad 20 di beberapa negara khususnya Timur Tengah dan Asia Selatan beserta beberapa tragedi yang sangat mengenaskan dan patut disesalkan mengapa mesti terjadi.

Namun tidak hanya konflik dan intrik, penulis juga memaparkan beberapa upaya ulama dari kedua sekte untuk melakukan perdamaian dan lebih mementingkan persatuan dan mendahulukan persamaan ketimbang menonjolkan perbedaan. Dan berbagai upaya mereka untuk melihat ancaman sesungguhnya bagi dunia Islam yang berasal dari luar, baik dalam bentuk invasi pemikiran, politik, bahkan militer.

Buku dengan pemaparan politik dan analisa ilmiah yang cukup kaya dengan data, sehingga dapat menjadi salah satu referensi kita dalam memahami konflik yang terjadi selama ini dalam dunia Islam.

Saya pribadi berharap, setelah membaca buku ini kita bisa bersikap lebih bijak dalam menyikapi hal ini. Perbedaan kedua sekte tidak akan pernah berhenti hingga waktu yang lama, sementara di sisi yang lain invasi terhadap dunia Islam terus terjadi. Semoga kita bisa lebih pandai dalam membuat prioritas dalam menyikapi gejolak politik dunia saat ini, khususnya dunia Islam saat ini.

Semoga...

Mampang, 5 Pebruari 2008(less)

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Jul 12, 2007 Jamie Rinaldi rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone trying to understand the current conflict in the Islamic world

Over the last three years, I think we've all become painful aware of the sectarian struggle between Shia and Sunni Muslims in Iraq. Although the political and armed struggle in Iraq probably represents the most intense manifestation of the Shia/Sunni struggle, this conflicts plays out in other Arab regions to significant effect - it was the conflict between the Sunni PLO and the Shias in southern Lebanon in the late 1970's and early 1980's that led to the foundation of the Hezbollah as a means f...more

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Nov 07, 2011 Niki Clinger rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: school

I loved this book. This is a really good way to help an American understand exactly what is going on in the Middle East.

I read bits of it for class in 2009 but I finally got a chance to read it for fun this year and I was thrilled I did. I enjoyed the CRAP out of this book.

Thanks Dr. Weinberg, as always, books you assign are more informative and helpful than I could have ever predicted. I actually was able to lead a discussion on Islam because of this book.

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Aug 09, 2009 R rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

An excellent insight into the true power politics of the region. Where Americans see national boundaries and cults of personality, the actual power structure is based on Sunni/Shi'a history. It doesn't get a higher rating because Vali Nasr doesn't communicate his points and this structure well, leaving it to the reader to pick it out across a broad swatch of history. I'm a dilettante (though I do some of this stuff for work), and wanted more structure.

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Jul 07, 2008 Jon rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Nasr falls on the sectarian side of the debate over how the contemporary and future Middle East will organize itself. Unlike scholars such as Moshe Ma'oz--who argue that local and regional balances of power will define the Middle East's power struggles and hotspots--Nasr understands the future of the Middle East in terms of a general split along Sunni-Shi'i lines. According to this logic, major cleaveages cut across--as opposed to along or within--national borders. As a result, the differences b...more

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Feb 10, 2011 Charlotte Osborn-bensaada rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fic-chapter

Nasr gives provides a new way of looking at many of the conflicts that bedevil Islamic communities in the Middle East and Asia through the lens of the Shia-Sunni split. I have taken a number of graduate level courses on the Middle East and they almost all failed to articulate how important this schism has been for Islamic history.

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Dec 21, 2011 梁飞 rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

For an individual who doesn't have any sort of background in Islam, this book is a very good introduction. However, with that being said, there was one line in the book that made me seriously question the quality of it's scholarship in which Nasr states that the Yazidi are a sect of Shia. Um, definately not.

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Jan 25, 2009 Angela rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I actually didn't finish this book. It is very informative and well written, but for me it was too detailed and I felt like I wasn't retaining anything that I was reading, so I gave up about half way through. My husband read it (all the way through) and he thought it was really good.

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Aug 18, 2011 Darryl rated it 3 of 5 stars

Disappointing what a limited conceptualization of funcional democracy this presents. Essentially, the book seems to advocate for a "one person one vote" system in the Middle East, but it fails to acknowledge the importance of protecions for minority groups and positions in assuring that all members of a society, not just the majority, are represented and served by their government. Rather, the author decries the subjugation of Shia individuals on the basis of their substantial proporton of popul...more

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Jun 14, 2009 John Lilly rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a really interesting book, given to me by my friend Peter Sims, particularly in light of the Iranian elections last week. It's an in depth, but readable explanation of the history of the Shia/Sunni relationship, but also a very broad look at the contemporary politics across the region. I have a pretty strong sense that there's some pro-Shia bias in the book (although as an outsider, it's difficult to assess how much, really) -- nonetheless, this was probably the single most useful book I...more

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May 22, 2008 Benjamin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: people interested in International Relations, the war in Iraq, the Middle East, and Islam

Shelves: middle-east

This is a very informative read for people who are just beginning to learn about the Middle East, and I wholeheartedly agree with New York Times correspondent Dexter Filkins (who has his own Iraq book coming out in September) when he says that, "the more you learn about the Middle East, the less you understand."

The book summarizes the split between the Sunnis and the Shia and their history of relations. But the crux of this book is about the sectarian conflict between sunnis and shias that the...more

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Mar 10, 2013 Hannah Givens rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: religion, nonfiction, politics

Read for my Islamic World class. Unfortunately I lack context to really judge the book's points. I think if you're interested in the subject this is probably a good book to add to the discussion, focusing on the Shia/Sunni sectarian history of Middle Eastern conflicts from a Shia perspective. It is about five years old now, so it needs supplements for current events, and it assumes a lot of knowledge about current events of that time.

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Apr 08, 2013 Ross rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history-diplomacy

Excellent at exploring the difference between Shia and Sunni Islam, and how this sectarian conflict defines more than anything else in the politics of the Middle East. Foreshadows the Arab Spring as a repercussion of the Iraq War by means of Shia democratic empowerment and flow of Sunni extremism insurgents.
I started this book in college and I'm really glad I finished it.

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Sep 23, 2011 Tamara rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

One of the worst books I have ever read. Mr. Nasr is so biased it is sickening. He constantly refers to Sunni Muslims as extremist. So what is Hezbollah? The next door neighbor??

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May 27, 2011 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Sarah by: Required by my debate class

Shelves: for-debate, made-me-think, nonfiction, required, central-asia-middle-east, politically-socially-aware, india-about-or-setting

It took me much longer than usual to get through this book, simply due to all of the detail Nasr includes and the scope of the problems he discusses (not to mention somewhat unfamiliar names and a lot of groups to keep straight). Fairly easy to read, excepting that.

I'm sure other reviews have brought this up, but I feel like there's a Shia bias in the work and will definitely try to find differing perspectives. There is no one right way to view the conflict in the Middle East, however, so even w...more

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Apr 26, 2008 Sam W rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Any military personnel

An incredibly valuable book for anyone trying to understand the main sectarian conflict that is defining the Middle East. This book covers the history of Shia Islam from the initial schism in Islamic leadership right up to the present day. The author tends to insert a lot of history into a small book, and some more analysis would have been nice, but again, I can't say enough about the window this provided me, an American, into the history present-day conflicts that shape one of the world's large...more

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Jan 06, 2012 Ghada Arafat rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kobo-reads

I am really hesitant to give this book 3 starts but I gave it that because it is a great book in terms of covering many untouched issues and it leaves the reader with enough curiosity to read more on the issue.
What was apparent for me in the book, which I did not like especially that the author has a big academic back ground, is his apparent sympathy with Shies. I noticed that when ever he talks about bloody acts committed by Shies he is giving them the excuse that they were retaliated. He stres...more

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Aug 18, 2009 Christy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Calm, expertly told, important history for a better understanding of conflict within the Muslim community.

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