Emergence of Modern Shi'ism

Scholars often locate the origins of the modern Islamic world in European colonialism or Islamic reactions to European modernity. The Emergence of Moderm Shi'ism focuses instead on the rise of Islamic movements indigeneous to the Middle East, which developed in direct response to the collapse and decentralization of the Islamic gunpowder empires. In other words, new Shi'i, Sunni, and Sufi movements emerged as the Safavid, Ottoman, and Mughal empires decentalized and disintegrated. Professor Heern specifically highlights the emergence of modern Usuli Shi'ism in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Thought provoking and challenging, this book examines the foundations of modern Islam, and provides fascinating insight into the region's religious and political developments both past and present. -- Provided by publisher.