The Shi'is of Iraq

Iraqi Shi`is, the country's majority group, are nevertheless politically disinherited. This book provides a historical background for understanding their place in today's Sunni-dominated Iraq.

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Iraqi Shi`is, the country's majority group, are nevertheless politically disinherited, as was vividly demonstrated in the aftermath of the Gulf War. This book provides a historical background for understanding their place in today's Sunni-dominated Iraq and challenges the widely-held belief that their culture and politics are a reflection of Iranian Shi`ism. In examining the years between the rise of the Shi`i strongholds Najaf and Karbala in the mid-18th century and the collapse of the Iraqi monarchy in 1958, Nakash shows that the growth of Iraqi Shi`ism was closely related to socio-economic and political developments in the 19th century.