Shi'a Minorities in the Contemporary World - (Alternative Histories) by Oliver Scharbrodt & Yafa Shanneik (Paperback)

About the Book

Offers a set of new comparative perspectives on the experiences of Shi'a Muslim minorities outside the 'Muslim heartland' (Middle East, North Africa, Central and South Asia) and discusses the challenges these communities face as 'a minority within a minority'.

Book Synopsis

Global migrations flows in the 20th century have seen the emergence of Muslim diaspora and minority communities in Europe, North America and other parts of the world. While there is a growing body of research on Muslim minorities in various regional contexts, the particular experiences of Shi'a Muslim minorities across the globe has only received scant attention.
This book offers new comparative perspectives of Shi'a minorities outside of the so-called 'Muslim heartland' (the Middle East, North Africa, Central and South Asia). It includes contributions on Shi'a minority communities in Europe, North and South America, Sub-Saharan Africa and East Asia that emerged out of migration from the Middle East and South Asia in the 20th and 21st centuries in particular. As a 'minority within a minority', Shi'a Muslims face the double challenge of maintaining as Islamic as well as a particular Shi'a identity in terms of communal activities and practices, public perception and recognition.

From the Back Cover

New comparative perspectives on Shi'a minorities outside the Muslim world Global migration flows in the 20th century have seen the emergence of Muslim diaspora and minority communities in Europe, North America and other parts of the world. This book offers a set of new comparative perspectives on the experiences of Shi'a Muslim minorities outside the so-called 'Muslim heartland' (Middle East, North Africa, Central and South Asia). It looks at Shi'a minority communities in Europe, North and South America, Sub-Saharan Africa and East Asia and discusses the particular challenges these communities face as 'a minority within a minority'. Key Features  Provides comparative insights into Shi'a Muslim communities across the globe, set in Muslim minority contexts  Makes an important contribution to understanding the global dynamics of contemporary Shi'a Islam  Illustrates how transnational Shi'a networks operate in Muslim minority contexts  Discusses the impact of events in the Middle East on Shi'a Muslim minorities across the world  Case studies include an in-depth ethnographic study of the Shi'a community in Buenos Aires; insights into the unique challenges of Shi'a Muslims in Sri Lanka; the connections of Shi'a Muslims in Cambodia to Iran; and the limits of sectarian differences among Shi'a Muslims in Germany Oliver Scharbrodt is Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Birmingham. He is the author of Islam and the Baha'i Faith: A Comparative Study of Muhammad 'Abduh and 'Abdul-Baha 'Abbas (2008) and co-author of Muslims in Ireland: Past and Present (Edinburgh University Press, 2015). He one of the editors of the Yearbook of Muslims in Europe. Yafa Shanneik is Lecturer in Islamic Studies at the University of Birmingham. She researches the dynamics and trajectories of gender in Islam within the context of contemporary diasporic and transnational Muslim women's spaces.

Review Quotes

The volume is a valuable contribution to Shi'a studies that challenges some of the preconceived notions about the Shi'a diaspora, such as an 'Iranian satellite' in non-Muslim contexts. Furthermore, it shows the resistance and indigenous nature of Shi'a groups that form their unique identity by adapting Shi'a theology to local culture. [...] Finally, the volume brilliantly captures the areas of cooperation which challenge rigid sectarian classifications and presents analytical tools to explain shared/collective subjectivities and fluidity of sectarian boundaries which are difficult to categorise as Shi'a or Sunni.--Jaffer Abbas Mirza, Centre for Academic Shi'a Studies, London "Journal of Shi'a Islamic Studies Vol 12, Number 1-2"

This edited volume provides unique empirical research on the usually under studied Shi'a minorities in different contexts, from Europe to Latin America and Cambodia. It is an important contribution to the fields of immigration, transnational and religious studies.-- "Jocelyne Cesari, University of Birmingham and Georgetown University"

About the Author

Oliver Scharbrodt is Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Chester. He is the author of Islam and the Baha'i Faith: A Comparative Study of Muhammad 'Abduh and 'Abdul-Baha 'Abbas (London and New York: Routledge, 2008) and editor of the Yearbook of Muslims in Europe (Leiden: Brill).

Yafa Shanneik is Lecturer in Islamic Studies at the University of Birmingham. She researches the dynamics and trajectories of gender in Islam within the context of contemporary diasporic and transnational Muslim women's spaces. Currently, she is working on a project which explores women's narratives of transnational marriage practices performed by Iraqi and Syrian women who have settled in Europe or other countries in the Middle East since the 1980s. The project focuses on the historical developments and contemporary understandings and approaches of marriage practices among displaced Iraqi and Syrian Muslim women and foregrounds questions of identity, home and belonging of women constituted through local, national and transnational scales of migration experiences.