Apocalyptic Islam and Iranian Shi'ism

Apocalyptic Islam and Iranian Shi'ism
Author: Abbas Amanat
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2009-02-19
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0857710443

Interest in Shi'i Islam is running at unprecedented levels. International tensions over Iran, where the largest number of Shi'i Muslims live, as well as the political resurgence of the Shi'i in Iraq and Lebanon, have created an urgent need to understand the background, beliefs and motivations of this dynamic vision of Islam. Abbas Amanat is one of the leading scholars of Shi'ism. And in this powerful book, a showcase for some of his most influential writing in the field, he addresses the colourful and diverse history of Shi' Islam in both premodern and contemporary times.Focusing specifically on the importance of apocalypticism in the development of modern Shi'i theology, he shows how an immersion in messianic ideas has shaped the conservative character of much Shi'i thinking, and has prevented it from taking a more progressive course. Tracing the continuity of apocalyptic trends from the Middle Ages to the present, Amanat addresses such topics as the early influence on Shi'ism of Zoroastrianism; manifestations of apocalyptic ideology during the Iranian Revolution of 1979; and the rise of the Shi'i clerical establishment during the 19th and 20th centuries. His book will be an essential resource for students and scholars of both religious studies and Middle Eastern history.

Apocalyptic Islam and Iranian Shi'ism

Apocalyptic Islam and Iranian Shi'ism
Author: Abbas Amanat
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 393
Release: 2009-02-19
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1786729520

Interest in Shi'i Islam is running at unprecedented levels. International tensions over Iran, where the largest number of Shi'i Muslims live, as well as the political resurgence of the Shi'i in Iraq and Lebanon, have created an urgent need to understand the background, beliefs and motivations of this dynamic vision of Islam. Abbas Amanat is one of the leading scholars of Shi'ism. And in this powerful book, a showcase for some of his most influential writing in the field, he addresses the colourful and diverse history of Shi' Islam in both premodern and contemporary times.Focusing specifically on the importance of apocalypticism in the development of modern Shi'i theology, he shows how an immersion in messianic ideas has shaped the conservative character of much Shi'i thinking, and has prevented it from taking a more progressive course. Tracing the continuity of apocalyptic trends from the Middle Ages to the present, Amanat addresses such topics as the early influence on Shi'ism of Zoroastrianism; manifestations of apocalyptic ideology during the Iranian Revolution of 1979; and the rise of the Shi'i clerical establishment during the 19th and 20th centuries. His book will be an essential resource for students and scholars of both religious studies and Middle Eastern history.

Gnostic Apocalypse and Islam

Gnostic Apocalypse and Islam
Author: Todd Lawson
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 239
Release: 2012-03-12
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1136622888

Of the several works on the rise and development of the Babi movement, especially those dealing with the life and work of its founder, Sayyid Ali Muhammad Shirazi, few deal directly with the compelling and complex web of mysticism, theology and philosophy found in his earliest compositions. This book examines the Islamic roots of the Babi religion, (and by extension the later Baha’i faith which developed out of it), through the Qur’anic commentaries of the Bab and sheds light on its relationship to the wider religious milieu and its profound debt to esoteric Islam, especially Shi'ism. Todd Lawson places the two earliest writings of the Bab within the diverse contexts necessary to understand them, in order to explain why these writings made sense to and inspired his followers. He delves into the history of the tafsir (Qur’an commentary) genre of Islamic scholarship, situates these early writings in the Akhbari, Sufi and most importantly Shaykhi traditions of Islam. In the process, he identifies both the continuities and discontinuities between these works and earlier works of Shi’i tafsir, helping us appreciate significant elements of the Bab’s thought and claims. Filling an important gap in the existing literature on the Babi movement, this book will be of greatest interest to students and scholars of Qur'an commentary, Mysticism, Shi'ism, the modern history of Iran and messianism.

Sociology of Shiʿite Islam

Sociology of Shiʿite Islam
Author: Saïd Amir Arjomand
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 498
Release: 2016-07-18
Genre: History
ISBN: 9004326278

Sociology of Shiʿite Islam is a comprehensive study of the development of Shiʿism. Its bearers first emerged as a sectarian elite, then a hierocracy and finally a theocracy. Imamate, Occultation and the theodicy of martyrdom are identified as the main components of the Shiʻism as a world religion. In these collected essays Arjomand has persistenly developed a Weberian theoretical framework for the analysis of Shiʿism, from its sectarian formation in the eighth century through the establishment of the Safavid empire in the sixteenth century, to the Islamic revolution in Iran in the twentieth century. These studies highlight revolutionary impulses embedded in the belief in the advent of the hidden Imam, and the impact of Shiʻite political ethics on the authority structure of pre-modern Iran and the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Iran

Iran
Author: Abbas Amanat
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2019
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780300248937

A masterfully researched and compelling history of Iran from the sixteenth century to the twenty-first

Cold War in the Islamic World

Cold War in the Islamic World
Author: Dilip Hiro
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 569
Release: 2019-02-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0190050330

For four decades Saudi Arabia and Iran have vied for influence in the Muslim world. At the heart of this ongoing Cold War between Riyadh and Tehran lie the Sunni-Shia divide, and the two countries' intertwined histories. Saudis see this as a conflict between Sunni and Shia; Iran's ruling clerics view it as one between their own Islamic Republic and an illegitimate monarchy. This foundational schism has played out in a geopolitical competition for dominance in the region: Iran has expanded its influence in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon, while Saudi Arabia's hyperactive crown prince, Muhammad bin Salman, has intervened in Yemen, isolated Qatar and destabilized Lebanon. Dilip Hiro examines the toxic rivalry between the two countries, tracing its roots and asking whether this Islamic Cold War is likely to end any time soon.

The Twelfth Imam

The Twelfth Imam
Author: Joel C. Rosenberg
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Total Pages: 489
Release: 2010-10-19
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1414346794

Book 1 in the best-selling 3-book espionage and spy thriller series that has sold 700,000 copies! “Rosenberg is the go-to novelist for Christian political fiction.” —Publisher’s Weekly The Twelfth Imam is the first novel of a new political thriller series by Joel C. Rosenberg, the New York Times bestselling author of the award-winning Last Jihad series. Rosenberg takes you inside a world few will ever enter. Hold on to your seat—the twists and turns never stop coming. Tensions are rising in the Middle East. Iran’s president vows to annihilate the United States and Israel. Israel’s prime minister says someone must hit Iran’s nuclear sites “before it’s too late.” The American president warns against a preemptive strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities and says negotiations are the key to finding peace. And amid it all, rumors are swirling throughout the region of a mysterious religious cleric claiming to be the Islamic messiah known as the Mahdi or the Twelfth Imam. Word of his miracles, healings, signs, and wonders is spreading like wildfire. CIA operative David Shirazi was born for this moment. He is recruited and sent into Tehran with one objective: use all means necessary to disrupt Iran’s nuclear weapons program, without leaving American fingerprints and without triggering an apocalyptic new war. A native Farsi speaker whose family escaped from Iran in 1979, he couldn’t be better prepared for the mission. But none of his training has prepared Shirazi for what will happen next.

Islam, Literature and Society in Mongol Anatolia

Islam, Literature and Society in Mongol Anatolia
Author: A. C. S. Peacock
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 313
Release: 2019-10-17
Genre: History
ISBN: 1108499368

A new understanding of the transformation of Anatolia to a Muslim society in the thirteenth-fourteenth centuries based on previously unpublished sources.

Pivot of the Universe

Pivot of the Universe
Author: Abbas Amanat
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 572
Release: 1997
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780520083219

"In this book, the first in English about Nasir al-Din Shah, Abbas Amanat gives us both a biography of the man and an analysis of the institution of monarchy in modern Iran. Amanat poses a fundamental question: how did monarchy, the center-piece of an ancient political order, withstand and adjust to the challenges of modern times, both at home and abroad? Nasir al-Din Shah's life and career, his upbringing and personality, and his political conduct provide remarkable material for answering this question.

Islamic Messianism

Islamic Messianism
Author: Abdulaziz Abdulhussein Sachedina
Publisher: SUNY Press
Total Pages: 242
Release: 1981-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780873954426

The first comprehensive study of the idea of the Mahdi, or divinely guided messianic leader.