Beyond Sunni and Shia: The Roots of Sectarianism in a Changing Middle East

Beyond Sunni and Shia: The Roots of Sectarianism in a Changing Middle East
ISBN-10
0190911190
ISBN-13
9780190911195
Category
Religion
Pages
409
Language
English
Published
2018-02-01
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Author
Frederic Wehrey

Description

This collection seeks to advance our understanding of intra-Islamic identity conflict during a period of upheaval in the Middle East. Instead of treating distinctions between and within Sunni and Shia Islam as primordial and immutable, it examines how political economy, geopolitics, domestic governance, social media, non- and sub-state groups, and clerical elites have affected the transformation and diffusion of sectarian identities. Particular attention is paid to how conflicts over distribution of political and economic power have taken on a sectarian quality, and how a variety of actors have instrumentalized sectarianism. The volume, covering Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, Iran, and Egypt, includes contributors from a broad array of disciplines including political science, history, sociology, and Islamic studies. Beyond Sunni and Shia draws on extensive fieldwork and primary sources to offer insights that are empirically rich and theoretically grounded, but also accessible for policy audiences and the informed public.

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