Lebanese Shi‘ite Leadership, 1920–1970s

Omri Nir is a leading scholar of Lebanese history and politics and is a lecturer at the Departments of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel-Aviv University, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and Achva College, Israel. He is often interviewed on Lebanese issues in Israeli, international, and Arab media. He has published numerous articles and is the author of Nabih Berri and Lebanese Politics.

1. Introduction.- 2. Main Classes in the Traditional Lebanese Shi'ite Leadership.- 3. The Centers of Power.- 4. The Speakership of the Parliament.- 5. The Intellectuals and the Power Centers.- 6. The Decline of the Zu'ama.- 7. Conclusions: Modifications of Community Leadership.