Minorities in the Middle East
- LAST MODIFIED: 26 February 2020
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199743292-0275
- LAST MODIFIED: 26 February 2020
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199743292-0275
Introduction
Minority is a difficult concept to deal with as there is no internationally agreed definition that specifies which groups are minorities. Minority is not simply a neutral term but is rather a sociological concept laden with meanings. Even in consolidated democracies, a parliamentary minority, for example, by definition lacks power. Any definition of the concept of minority must account for both objective and subjective factors. A minority must be a separate ethnic, linguistic, religious, or sectarian group, and clearly perceiving itself as a minority. A widely accepted definition is that of Francesco Capotorti, who believes that a minority must be numerically inferior to the rest of the population of a state and has to be in non-dominant position. The later principle of non-dominance might create some difficulties in defining minorities in the Middle East. For example, a numerical minority in Syria, the Alawites, are in power, so was the Sunni numerical minority in Iraq until the overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003. However, in this article, I do not treat politically dispossessed majorities as minorities. Indeed, the oppressed majority “perceives” itself as a “majority” that is deprived of its rightful power privileges, and not as an oppressed minority. Additionally, looking at ethnic groups at the regional level, not state-level, we do have clear majorities and minorities: the Persians, the Arabs, the Turks are a majority and every other ethnicity is a minority; looking at religious groups, Sunni Muslims are a majority and every other religion is a minority. The Middle East is the cradle of ancient civilizations, the birthplace of the three monotheistic religions, and the land of a multitude of ethnic and religious minorities. However, most scholars who study the Middle East focused on wars, oil, and geopolitics and ignored minorities. But the tumultuous Arab Spring demonstrated that the fate of the region is intricately related to the fate of its minorities and that various minorities are positioned to play a crucial role in shaping the region. Minorities are not simply subjects of state persecution or minoritization processes but have become in some instances energetic actors and dynamic agents. Discrimination against minorities is common among almost all Middle Eastern countries. Historically speaking, minorities have been oppressed, marginalized, under-represented, and subjected to variable degrees of repression and violence. Many clerics, especially the Wahhabis, decry minorities, such as the Shiʿi, the Bahaʾis, and Yezidis as heretics, thus justifying and even encouraging violence against them. Religious freedom is another major issue that besets the region. The Sunni- Shiʿite divide has become a major fault line that shapes politics in the region, especially the Iranian-Saudi rivalry. Tensions between Muslims and Christians are still apparent in many countries, especially in Egypt and in Iraq.
General Overview
The following works provide general introduction to minorities in the region. Hourani 1947 was among the first to introduce minorities and the author himself described his work as a tentative introduction to an ignored subject; Nisan 2002 highlights the region’s diversity by shedding light on the natives who inhabited the region before the Arabo-Islamic conquest; Ma’oz 1999 explores both conflictual majority-minority interactions and forces of assimilation and integration; Routledge Handbook of Minorities in the Middle East (2019) is a comprehensive collection of essays on various ethnic and religious minorities and numerous related majority-minority issues; Robson 2016 offers a theoretical discussion of the concept of minority before delving into the processes of minoritization carried out by the states and minorities’ reactions to these processes; Kumaraswamy 2003 explores various problems related to the study of minorities in the region; finally, Russell 2015 combines travelogues and meticulous historical research to study the lesser known minorities in the Middle East: the Mandaeans, the Yezidis, the Zoroastrians, the Druze, the Samaritans, the Copts, and the Kalasha (Pakistan).
Hourani, Albert H. Minorities in the Arab World. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1947.
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Albert Hourani wrote in his preface in 1947 that his book is only “a tentative introduction to a subject which has not yet been dealt with fully and objectively.” This is indeed a superb introduction to the question of minorities in the region. The book introduces a list of minorities and dedicates one chapter to each country (Egypt, Palestine, Transjordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq) along with general survey chapters.
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Kumaraswamy, P. R. “Problems of Studying Minorities in the Middle East.” Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations 2.2 (2003): 244–264.
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A short article that discusses various problems and questions surrounding the study of minorities in the region.
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Ma’oz, Moshe. Middle Eastern Minorities: Between Integration and Conflict. Washington, DC: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 1999.
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A policy paper that covers minority populations in Egypt, Sudan, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq, exploring the forces of integration and antagonism. A fine study that doesn’t only highlight conflictual majority-minority interactions but also explores coexistence and assimilation tracing changes in minorities’ fate since the 19th century.
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Nisan, Mordechai. Minorities in the Middle East: A History of Struggle and Self-Expression. 2d ed. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2002.
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Nisan highlights the region’s diversity by shedding light on the natives who preceded Arab Muslims and asking whether Arab Muslims “should be considered as native inhabitants, or perhaps foreign conquerors.” The book explores five non-Arab Muslim communities (Kurds, Berbers, Baluch, Druzes, Alawites), five Christian communities (Copts, Armenians, Assyrians, Maronites, Christians in Sudan) and the Jewish people. An informative book but with a strong opinion on conquest, domination and lost status.
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Robson, Laura, ed. Minorities and the Modern Arab World: New Perspectives. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2016.
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The first part of the book is extremely interesting for shedding light on the concept of minority itself before delving into more substantive and empirical issues. The second part explores the processes of minoritization carried out by the newly emerging states, societal reactions to such processes, and the various tactics that minority groups employed to navigate their new status. The third part explores minorities in the transnational spheres.
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Rowe, Paul S. Routledge Handbook of Minorities in the Middle East. London: Routledge, 2019.
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This handbook, which manages to bring together some of the finest Middle Eastern scholars, is divided into four sections. Section 1 deals with various issues regarding majority-minority dynamics. Section 2 focuses on religious and ethno-religious minorities. Section 3 explores the question of ethnic minorities and section four deals with various contemporary issues such as minorities and armed conflicts and the media. Most of the chapters are small and accessible.
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Russell, Gerard. Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms: Journeys into the Disappearing Religions of the Middle East. New York: Basic Books, 2015.
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The book combines travelogues and meticulous historical research that tackle the lesser known minorities in the Middle East: the Mandaeans, the Yezidis, the Zoroastrians, the Druze, the Samaritans, the Copts, and the Kalasha (Pakistan). This is a beautifully written book sprinkled with fascinating and gripping stories of rituals, traditions, and struggles of survival against all odds. The book provides a trove of information that is hard to find somewhere else. Highly recommended for readers who want to learn about the richness and diversity of the Middle East.
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Practices, Beliefs, and Rituals
The religious beliefs, practices, and rituals of minorities are unique for each sect. Some of those beliefs and practices could be provocative for the majority, such as the Alawites’ veneration for Ali, a belief that made the Alawites vulnerable to excommunication, isolation, and persecution. How such dogmas and rituals are perceived depends on the political context and the nature of the beliefs prevalent among the majority at certain times. Sometimes, the majority shows tolerance and acceptance; while at other times, it shows intolerance and practices persecution. Nonetheless, it is remarkable that the region is still bustling with all sorts of minorities who practice a wide range of religious beliefs. There are few restrictions that face Christians in the region; but other sects, especially the non-Orthodox Islamic ones, such as the Alawites, the Druze, or the Ismaʿilis, face higher risks. Not many people in the region know a lot about other smaller religions, the Mandeans or the Bahaʾis for instance, which makes those religions particularly vulnerable to grievous misunderstandings and outrageous rumors, such as devil-worshipping! The following works describe, explore, and analyze the religious beliefs of various religious communities.
Christians
Bailey and Bailey 2010 offers informative profiles of the major churches and denominations in the region; Ross, et al. 2018 presents a truly comprehensive review of Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, Anglican, and independent churches, in addition to the Evangelical and Pentecostal/charismatic movements in North Africa and West Asia; Parry 2010 discusses diverse aspects of Eastern Christianity, including history, doctrine, liturgy, iconography, and hagiography; Meinardus 2016 offers a basic review of Copts, their theology, culture, history, and various churches and monasteries; Farag 2014 explores Coptic history, and their religious, literary, and material culture.
Bailey, Betty Jane, and J. Martin Bailey. Who Are the Christians in the Middle East? Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2010.
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This books serves as an outstanding introduction to the various Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant communities in the Middle East. An excellent primer that offers informative profiles of the major churches and denominations in the region, a topic that is often overshadowed by the almost exclusive focus on Muslims and Jews as the animating forces of the region.
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Farag, Lois M., ed. The Coptic Christian Heritage: History, Faith, and Culture. New York: Routledge, 2014.
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A collection of sixteen essays written by Coptic scholars covering a wide range of topics spanning several thousand years of Egyptian history. The volume is divided into four main sections: history, religious culture, literary culture, and material culture. Like most edited volumes, some chapters fare better than others, but overall the edited volume maintains high standards of academic knowledge supplemented with personal experiences.
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Meinardus, Otto F. A. Two Thousand Years of Coptic Christianity. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press, 2016.
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Otto F. A. Meinardus is an expert on Coptic studies and has written many tracts before. The current book is just a simple introduction of the Copts in Egypt, their theology, culture, history, and their various churches and monasteries. The book also has important appendixes on the patriarchs of the Coptic church, relics of Coptic saints, language, architecture, calendar, and marks of identification. A very useful book that is mostly descriptive but encyclopedic.
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Parry, Ken, ed. The Blackwell Companion to Eastern Christianity. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010.
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This is an excellent and much needed overview of Eastern Christianity—an amazing collection of twenty-four articles that covers diverse aspects of Eastern Christianity, including history, doctrine, liturgy, iconography, and hagiography. Chapters also include extensive bibliographies making the book an indispensable reference for students and scholars alike. Additionally, the companion covers non–Middle Eastern Christian churches.
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Ross, Kenneth R., Mariz Tadroz, and Todd M. Johnson, eds. Christianity in North Africa and West Asia. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2018.
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A comprehensive book on Christian communities in North Africa and West Asia. The book is divided into four sections: The first is demographic while the second covers twenty-four countries individually and the third tackles the principal ecclesial forms and traditions of Christianity in those countries. The last section deals with a variety of themes such as faith, culture, social and political contexts, evangelism, gender, religious freedom, and inter-religious relations.
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Druze
Makārim 1974 provides the readers with one of the most compelling accounts of the genesis and development of this esoteric faith; Muakasa 2004 only offers a list of publications on the Druze; Betts 1990 reviews the Druze’s beliefs, practices, history, traditions, and their politics; Abu-Izzedd 1993 offers a basic introduction to the Druze’s faith, their ethics, dynasties, and origins in Fatimid Egypt; Salibi 2005 is a collection of essays on the Druze, their faith, social practices and traditions, and political roles in the development of Arab nationalism.
Abu-Izzedd, Nejla M. The Druzes: A New Study of Their History, Faith, and Society. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Academic, 1993.
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An easy-to-read introduction to the Druze beginning with their origins in Fatimid Cairo, moving on to their faith and ethics, and ending with their politics, dynasties, and a final chapter on Druze women.
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Betts, Robert Brenton. The Druze. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1990.
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A general survey of the Druze community covering its beliefs, practices, history, traditions, and political roles that draws on personal interviews, field work, and primary sources. A very well-written account of the Druze and their lives that would benefit the general reader and the student alike.
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Makārim, Sāmī Nasīb. The Druze Faith. New York: Caravan Books, 1974.
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One of the most compelling accounts of the genesis and development of the Druze. This faith is little known to the general public and even to some Druze themselves—the author states that one of his objectives “is to introduce the Druze layman to his faith.” The book relies on original sources and was authorized by the religious leadership of the Druze in Lebanon.
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Muakasa, Sahar. Comprehensive Bibliography of the Druze Religion. New York: Druze Research and Publications Institute, 2004.
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The book provides a list of publications on the Druze. This is not an annotated bibliography; instead, the reader has to check each book to see if it is relevant to his/her interests.
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Salibi, Kamal, ed. The Druze: Realities and Perceptions. London: Druze Heritage Foundation, 2005.
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This is a collection of essays originally presented at a conference organized by the Druze Heritage Foundation in London and St. Antony’s College, Oxford, in July 2002. The first four chapters cover religious matters. Three chapters deal with social issues such as the social structures of the community, questions of identity, and the status of women. Other chapters explore historical themes such as the Druze’s role in the development of Arab nationalism.
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The Alawites
Friedman 2010 offers a very detailed account of the Alawites, their religious beliefs, historical origins, rituals, practices, holidays, calendar, persecution, and excommunication; Bar-Asher and Kofsky 2002 reviews the basic tenets of the faith and show that Alawism is a syncretistic religion that drew on various faiths and traditions; Bar-Asher 2011 explains the origins of the name of the Alawites along with their practices and rituals; Winter 2016 argues that contrary to common beliefs, the Alawites were not systematically and permanently persecuted by their Sunni rulers. Rather, they were a fundamental part of Syrian and Turkish provincial society.
Bar-Asher, Meir M., and Aryeh Kofsky. The Nuṣayr⁻i-ʻalaw⁻i Religion: An Enquiry into Its Theology and Liturgy. Leiden, The Netherlands, and Boston: Brill, 2002.
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A general survey of Alawite beliefs, their origins, theology, religious practices, and liturgy demonstrating that Alawism is a syncretistic religion that drew on various faiths and traditions.
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Bar-Asher, Meir M. “ʿAlawīs, Classical Doctrines.” In Encyclopaedia of Islam. 3d ed. Edited by Gudrun Krämer, Denis Matringe, John Nawas, and Everett Rowson, 64–69. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2011.
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The chapter is very useful as an introduction to the origin of the Alawis and their name along with a survey of their beliefs, rituals, and practices.
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Friedman, Yaron. The Nuṣayrī-ʻAlawīs: An Introduction to the Religion, History, and Identity of the Leading Minority in Syria. Leiden, The Netherlands, and Boston: Brill, 2010.
DOI: 10.1163/ej.9789004178922.i-328Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
A very useful survey of the Alawite religious beliefs covering themes such as historical origins and founding fathers of the faith, rituals, practices, holidays, calendar, persecution, and excommunication at the hands of the Sunni majority, and the Shiite attitudes toward them. A rich and detailed survey of the Alawite minority, useful for both the general reader and the specialist.
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Winter, Stefan. History of the Alawis: From Medieval Aleppo to the Turkish Republic. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2016.
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One of the best books on the history of the Alawites, their origins, and evolution through the centuries until a little after World War I. One major thesis of the book is that contrary to common beliefs, the Alawis were not systematically persecuted by their Sunni rulers. Rather, they were a fundamental part of Syrian and Turkish provincial society. The author used an impressive array of archival material spanning almost ten centuries.
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The Ismaʿilis
Daftary 1995 offers an encyclopedic review of the Ismaʿilis, their doctrinal and historical development over the last twelve centuries; Daftary 2011 covers the Ismaʿili communities of South Asia, East Africa, Central Asia, China, and Syria and explores the Aga Khan institutions and activities; Steinberg 2011 shows that the Ismaʿilis successfully adapted to globalization and modernization process and even utilized them to connect their geographically dispersed community into centralized structures; Mukherjee 2017 focuses on the activities of the Ismaili leader, the Agha Khan III, who led his community in a changing world and who managed to preserve the authenticity of the faith while connecting his community to an emerging global world.
Daftary, Farhad. The Ismailis: Their History and Doctrines. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
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Nothing short of encyclopedic, this book traces in over seven hundred pages the doctrinal and historical development of the second largest Shiʿite community over the last twelve centuries. An exceptionally erudite book that relied on a vast array of primary and secondary material to provide readers with what is destined to become the definitive text on the Ismaʿili. The book has already been printed five times since its publication in 1990 despite the fact that readership for this particular topic is limited.
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Daftary, Farhad, ed. A Modern History of the Ismailis: Continuity and Change in a Muslim Community. New York: I. B. Tauris, 2011.
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This is a collection of essays on the Ismaʿilis written by experts in their respective fields and edited by Professor Daftary, the foremost scholar on Ismaʿilis. The book covers the Ismaʿili communities of South Asia, East Africa, Central Asia, China, and Syria. Part 3 of the book explores the Aga Khan institutions and activities. An absolute delight to read and indispensable for those interested in this understudied community.
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Mukherjee, Soumen. Ismailism and Islam in Modern South Asia: Community and Identity in the Age of Religious Internationals. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2017.
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A fascinating study of the emergence of a new identity among this small Ismaʿili community in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The study focuses on the activities of the Ismaʿili leader, the Agha Khan III, who led his community in a changing world and who managed to preserve the authenticity of the Ismaʿili faith while connecting his community to an emerging global world.
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Steinberg, Jonah. Ismaʿili Modern: Globalization and Identity in a Muslim Community. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 2011.
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An ethnographic study of a little-known Islamic community that successfully adapted to globalization and modernization process and even utilized them to connect its geographically dispersed community into centralized structures. The book is fascinating and presents an image of an Islamic community that does not fit the stereotypical accounts of Muslims struggling with fundamentalism and violence. Instead, this is a community that has accepted diversity and pluralism.
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The Shiʿi
Momen 1985 remains an essential source on Shiʿism, its history, doctrines, jurisprudence, and religious hierarchy; Haidar 2014 presents a very useful comparison between the three branches of Shiʿism: the Twelvers, the Ismaʿilis, and the Zaydis; Asatryan 2017 explains the origins and evolution of the Ghulat (extremist) Muslims relying on recently obtained primary material; Aghaie 2015 explains one of the most essential and defining rituals of Shiʿite Muslims, the Karbla commemorations and their various uses by religious and political leaders; Moosa 1987 explores the various Ghulat sects—extremists, known for their unorthodox beliefs and practices; Arjomand 1988 presents an excellent study on Shiʿite religious authority and its transformations and revolutionary potential that culminated in the Iranian revolution of 1979; Nasr, et al. 1988 focuses on the spiritual and intellectual dimensions of Shiʿism and in many ways correct the research bias that focused mostly on Shiʿite proclivities for revolution and violence; Fradkin 2009 discusses the politicization of the Shiʿite faith and its political implications.
Aghaie, Kamran Scot. The Martyrs of Karbala: Shiʿi Symbols and Rituals in Modern Iran. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2015.
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This book explores the origin and development of Karbala rituals and their various modern uses by governments, the public, and the elites. Ruling elites use Karbla rituals to buttress their legitimacy. Opposition elites use them to mobilize the public and overthrow the regime. Finally, those rituals are essential in forming social bonds among Shiʿite Iranians. A wonderful book that sheds light on the various uses of rituals in public life.
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Arjomand, Saïd Amir, ed. Authority and Political Culture in Shi’ism. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1988.
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A very insightful and learned study on religious authority in Shiʿism and its transformation through the ages, including its revolutionary potential that materialized in the 1970s.
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Asatryan, Mushegh. Controversies in Formative Shiʿa Islam: The Ghulat Muslims and Their Beliefs. London: I. B. Tauris, 2017.
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The Ghulat refers to an early extremist Islamic community that appeared in the early centuries of Islam. Some of its unorthodox beliefs include the transmigration of the souls and the excessive sanctification and glorification of the prophet’s family and Shiʿite Imams. This book explores how this community that received only meager scholarly attention emerged and evolved by analyzing various primary material and employing careful textual analysis.
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Fradkin, Hillel. “The Paradoxes of Shiism.” Current Trends in Islamist Ideology 8 (2009): 5–25.
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The author reviews what he calls “Shiite Islamism,” which is also referred to as radical or political Shiʿism, which is the reigning doctrine in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Prior to the Iranian revolution, Shiʿism was known to be a quietist religion where the clerical leadership generally stays away from mobilizing its followers for political causes. The article discusses the politicization of the Shiʿite faith.
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Haidar, Najam. Shīʿī Islam: An Introduction. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014.
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Another source on the ideological origins and evolution of Shiʿism. The book distinguishes itself by giving extensive treatment to the Ismaʿili and the Zaydis, breaking with most books on Shiʿism that limit treatment to the Twelvers. The author doesn’t simply explain the three sects but indulges the readers with comparisons of differences and similarities among them thus providing a much deeper understanding of the sub-branches of Shiʿism.
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Momen, Moojan. An Introduction to Shiʻi Islam: The History and Doctrines of Twelver Shiʻism. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1985.
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A general introduction to Shiʿism that follows a somewhat chronological format with a couple of chapters dedicated to doctrines, ritual practices, jurisprudence, religious hierarchy, and Sufism, along with a discussion of the various schools within Twelver Shiʿism itself and a final chapter on contemporary Shiʿism. This is one of the earliest books that came out in the wake of the Islamic revolution in Iran and is still a very valuable source on Shiʿi.
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Moosa, Matti. Extremist Shiites: The Ghulat Sects. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1987.
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There are many subsects or offshoots within each the two main sects of Muslims: the Sunnis and the Shiʿi and particularly so among the Shiʿi. This book explores the Ghulats whose beliefs deviate from what the majority of Muslims consider standard. The author examines groups such as the Shabak in Northern Iraq and the Bektashi Sufis or Qizilbash (or Alevis) in Turkey, Ahl-i-Haqq in Iran, and the Alawites in Syria.
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Nasr, Seyyed Hossein, Hamid Dabashi, and Seyyed Vali Reza Nasr, eds. Shiʿism : Doctrines, Thought, and Spirituality. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1988.
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Most of the literature on Shiʿism in the early years following the Iranian revolution focused on its alleged violent proclivities. This book sets out to explain the spiritual and intellectual dimensions of the Shiʿite doctrines.
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The Yezidis
Açikyildiz 2014 explains the origins of the Yezidi community and its syncretic religious beliefs; Koon 2016 introduces the readers to the sacred scriptures and writings of the Yezidi community; Spat 2005 offers a very readable introduction to Yezidis’ religious beliefs and their sources and explores the social changes that came along with modernization and how that deeply impacted this community.
Açikyildiz, Birgül. The Yezidis: The History of a Community, Culture and Religion. London: I. B. Tauris, 2014.
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Not so many knew or cared to know about the Yezidis before ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) carried out genocidal practices against this small community. The lack of knowledge is complicated by grave misconceptions about the Yezidis’ religious beliefs and their alleged Satan-worshipping. The book explains the history of the community, its syncretic religious beliefs–drawing from Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, Sufism, and regional paganism—its culture, and society.
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Ezster Spat. Yezidis. London: Saqi Books, 2005.
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This tiny Kurdish community has been subjected to endless persecution and eradication attempts and a barrage of rumors and misconceptions attributing to them the sin of worshipping the devil. This short book explores the Yezidis’ religious beliefs and its sources but also pays attention to the social changes brought about by modernization that the community struggled with.
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Koon, Gregory K. Yezidi Holy Books. Scotts Valley, CA: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016.
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For the reader who wants to delve into the sacred scriptures and writings of the Yezidi (the Yezidi prayer, the Book of Revelation, The Hymn of Sheikh Adi, and the Black Book), this book does an excellent job with multiple translations.
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The Mandeans
Drower 2002 explores the Mandeans’ religious beliefs, rituals, practices, and social customs; while Lupieri 2001 includes extensive anthology of translated Mandaean sacred texts after explaining the basic tenets of the faith.
Drower, Elizabeth Stephens. The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran: Their Cults, Customs, Magic Legends, and Folklore. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2002.
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The Mandaeans are another tiny community probably under 100,000 that mostly lives in Iraq and Iran. Their religion is mostly gnostic, believing in a dual world of light and darkness. This fascinating study of a little known community explores the Mandeans’ religious beliefs, rituals, practices, and social customs.
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Lupieri, Edmondo. The Mandaeans: The Last Gnostics. Translated by Charles Hindley. Italian Texts and Studies on Religion and Society. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2001.
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An excellent introduction to Mandeanism, a branch of Gnosticism, a religion that the public knows very little about. The book covers the beliefs, customs, traditions, and social practices and rituals of the Mandeans and includes extensive anthology of translated Mandean sacred texts
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The Bahaʾi
Smith 2008 offers a very readable and clear account of the Bahaʾi faith, its theology, practices, rituals, and teachings; Esslemont 2006 was first published in 1923 but is still a very useful primer on the faith, its early origins, and its founder, Baha’u’llah; Hatcher and Martin 2012 presents a clear narrative of the faith’s origins in Persia, the leadership succession, administration and laws, and the Bahaʾi world view; Smith 1987 utilizes a sociohistorical approach to trace the origins and evolution of this faith from a messianic sect into a world religion.
Esslemont, J. E. Baha’u’llah and the New Era: An Introduction to the Baha’i Faith. Wilmette, IL: Baha’i Publishing, 2006.
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First published in 1923, this book is still a very useful primer on the faith and its founder, Baha’u’llah. The book has been reprinted many times and it describes the basic tenets of the Bahaʾi faith, along with its spiritual practices, its early origins, and prophecies that have been allegedly fulfilled. A great reading for students interested in learning about this new religion.
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Hatcher, William S., and J. Douglas Martin. The Bahai Faith: The Emerging Global Religion. Wilmette, IL: Bahai Publishing, 2012.
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Another introduction into the Bahaʾi faith that explains the faith beginning with its roots in Persia and its spread all over the world. Chapters cover the founder of the new religion, the basic tents and teachings, leadership succession, administration and laws, the Bahaʾi world view.
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Smith, Peter. The Babi and Baha’i Religions: From Messianic Shiʿism to a World Religion. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1987.
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A sociohistorical work on the Bahaʾi faith that traces its origins and evolution from its humble beginnings as a Shaykhi or Shiʿite messianic sect into a world religion that has over 6 million followers spread in every continent. The book analyzes the social and political context in which the faith grew and evolved. This is probably the best book the serious student might want to read to learn about this new religion as it distances itself from hagiography and apologetics.
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Smith, Peter. An Introduction to the Baha’i Faith. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
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This book sheds light on an ignored and intensely persecuted and little-known community. Peter Smith traces the genesis of this new faith that emerged in Iran in the mid-19th century through the various spiritual leaders, especially Baha’u’llah (b. 1817–d. 1892). The book covers various aspects of this new faith from its theology to practices and rituals and teachings.
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The Zaydis
Daniel and Hamblin 2009 offers a concise but crisp introduction to Zaydism, its beliefs and history; Paul 1989 explores the tribal history of Yemen but offers insightful details on Zaydis’ beliefs and culture; Haider 2010 provides a historical overview of the sect, its evolution, interaction with various Sunni schools, and the emergence of new generation of Zaydi scholars.
Daniel, Peterson, and William Hamblin. “Zaydīyah.” In Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. Vol. 6. Edited by John L. Esposito, 45–47. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.
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A concise but informative survey of Zaydism serving as an excellent introduction to the beliefs and history of this minority.
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Haider, Najam. “Zaydism: A Theological and Political Survey.” Religion Compass 4.7 (2010): 436–442.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-8171.2010.00214.xSave Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
A very comprehensive and readable account of Zaydism, its beginnings, evolution, transformation, and interaction with Sunnism; the article also discusses recent developments in Yemen including the rise of the Houthis and new generation of Zaydi scholars.
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Paul, Dresch. Tribes, Government, and History in Yemen. Oxford: Clarendon, 1989.
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Combining history with ethnography, the author explores Yemen’s tribal history and what tribes bring to the nation-state. The book also offers significant and insightful details on Zaydis and their beliefs and culture.
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Nationalism, Statehood, and Minorities
Contrary to popular perceptions, the Middle East is a showcase of multiple ethnicities, religions, and sects. Indeed, the region is infamous for its nation-state crisis, the incongruence between the state and its national constituents, and their loyalties This nationhood crisis is not limited to the desires of some ethnic groups, such as the Kurds, to create their own ethnic states, but also refers to the dissatisfaction of Arab nationalists and Islamists with the current make-up of the Middle East as separate territorial states. This explains the emergence and popularity of pan-ideologies, particularly Pan-Arabism in the 1950s through the 1970s, and later Pan-Islamism. Both ideologies aim at creating a homogenous state that in effect threatens non-Arab and non-Muslim minorities and accentuates the potential of the tyranny of the majority. Some minorities initially supported the secular Pan-Arabism hoping that it would create an identity that transcends religious and ethnic loyalties but Pan-Arabism eventually gave way to a more minority-threatening ideology, Pan-Islamism.
Overview
Shatzmiller 2005 focuses on nation-building processes and their impact on minority communities living in the Muslim-dominated Middle East; Eibner 2018, an edited volume, is a mixed bag where some chapters are highly polemical depicting minorities as endangered and subject to “cleansing” by Muslims but other chapters are more objective; Ma’oz and Sheffer 2012 explores a wide range of topics such as the indigenous minorities and their relations with the state, connections between religion and regimes, and ethnic conflicts; Firro 2009, which offers an exceptionally insightful textual analysis of the rise of the nationalist idea and its implications for minorities, dedicates four chapter specifically to the relationship between minorities and the state; Janet 2011 presents a profound analysis of the complex relationship between states and minorities, focusing on the Kurds and the Armenians, their interactions with one another and with the Ottoman Empire; Salamey and Tabar 2012 offers a very rich discussion of what the authors call “sectarian populism” and its multiple uses by elites to pre-empt the emergence of a unifying national identity in the Lebanese consociational context; Erman and Göker 2000 discusses a topic that has not been well-researched: the Alevi minority in Turkey and its relationship with the state; Esman and Rabinovich 1988 presents a rich theoretical study of ethnicity, pluralism, and minorities in the Middle East; Aslan 2014 makes a very insightful comparison between two minorities, the Kurds and the Berbers, and their differing relationship with their states.
Aslan, Senem. Nation-Building in Turkey and Morocco. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2014.
DOI: 10.1017/CBO9781107294387Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
Why do some minority or national groups enjoy peaceful relations with the states they inhabit while others experience oppression and subsequently resist and pose a threat to the state? The author argues that intrusive state policies and nationalizing projects generate resistance from minorities, thus undermining instead of strengthening the state. Morocco reasonably accommodated Berbers’ demands which explains the absence of ethnic violence; whereas Turkey used more coercive measures to tackle the Kurdish question and consequently violent resistance erupted.
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Bengio, Ofra, and Gabriel Ben-Dor. Minorities and the State in the Arab World. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1999.
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Notably this work does not define minorities numerically but rather in terms of their political status within the state they inhabit. This resourceful and theoretically rich work focuses on the strategies used by the state to deal with its minorities and those used by minorities to organize their relations with the state. The various chapters accept that identities are manipulated but also acknowledge that some form of authentic ethnicity exists. A rich book and an excellent source of theoretical insights and case studies.
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Eibner, John, ed. The Future of Religious Minorities in the Middle East. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2018.
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A collection of essays written by journalists, activists, politicians, and academics. The chapters cover a wide range of topics and minorities. Some of the chapters in the book are highly polemical and depict minorities as endangered and subject to “cleansing” by Muslims. However, other chapters are more academic and stay away from Islamophobic polemics.
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Erman, Tahire, and Emrah Göker. “Alevi Politics in Contemporary Turkey.” Middle Eastern Studies 36.4 (2000): 99–118.
DOI: 10.1080/00263200008701334Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
The article casts light on Alevis (different from Alawites) in Turkey and their diverse political orientations and relationship with the state. Alevism is the second largest faith in Turkey, estimated between 10 percent and 15 percent of the population. The article analyzes the repoliticization or revivalism of the Alevi community in Turkey.
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Esman, Milton J., and Itamar Rabinovich. Ethnicity, Pluralism, and the State in the Middle East. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1988.
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A rich study of a wide variety of topics and case studies including theoretical questions of the study of ethnicity and minorities in the Middle East and the historical origins of ethnic pluralism.
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Firro, Kais M. Metamorphosis of the Nation (al-Umma): The Rise of Arabism and Minorities in Syria and Lebanon, 1850–1940. Portland, OR: Sussex Academic Press, 2009.
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This book is about Arab nationalism and its various ambiguities, offering a rich textual analysis of nationalist and ethnic discourses. By endorsing secular nationalism, minorities hoped to elevate their status, melt in a larger collective identity, and preserve their own existence. Four chapters deal with the connections between a minority and Arab nationalism: the Lebanese Christians, the Shiʿite of Lebanon, the Alawites of Syria, and the Druze in the Levant.
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Janet, Klein. The Margins of Empire: Kurdish Militias in the Ottoman Tribal Zone. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2011.
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A very insightful study of minority-state complex relationships. At the turn of the 20th century, the Ottoman Empire faced many threats from its minorities, particularly from the Armenians and the Kurds. The Ottoman Empire organized its Kurdish minority into tribal militias and tasked them with oppressing the Armenian minority. The end result was the collective suppression of the Armenians but also the strengthening of Kurdish autonomy tendencies.
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Ma’oz, Moshe, and Gabriel Sheffer, eds. Middle Eastern Minorities and Diasporas. Portland, OR: Sussex Academic Press, 2012.
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A collection of thirteen essays written by twelve prominent scholars. The book is divided into two parts: the first focuses on indigenous ethnic minorities while the second deals with diasporas. The chapters are very rich in details and data and cover a wide range of topics such as the connection between religion and regimes and ethnic conflicts.
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Salamey, Imad, and Paul Tabar. “Democratic Transition and Sectarian Populism: The Case of Lebanon.” Contemporary Arab Affairs 5.4 (2012): 497–512.
DOI: 10.1080/17550912.2012.714575Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
Lebanon has long been considered an example of consociational democracy but the country has undergone severe existential crises, including a protracted civil war and unending instability. One of the major problems standing in the way of recovery is sectarian populism where sectarian leaders mobilize their followers along sectarian lines to pre-empt the emergence of a unifying secular national identity.
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Shatzmiller, Maya. Nationalism and Minority Identities in Islamic Societies. Montreal and Kingston, NY: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2005.
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This edited book focuses on nation-building processes and the shifting ideologies that underpin these processes and their impact on minority communities living in the Muslim-dominated Middle East. The volume is notable for its rich theoretical discussions and multiple references to major theoreticians of nationalism and ethnicity. The first chapter written by Richard C. Martin tackles the thorny question of minority definition and is a very useful chapter for those interested in conceptualizing minorities.
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Discrimination and Persecution of Minorities
Minorities’ rights are one of the most problematic issues that confront any nation-state, including consolidated democracies such as the United States or the United Kingdom. It should not be surprising then that ethnic and religious minorities face discrimination, persecution, and even mob violence in weak and authoritarian states such as those in the Middle East. Minorities still struggle to find a voice and a place in the region. Even though the Alawites in Syria have been in power since the 1970s, they are still maligned and despised and face existential dangers should they lose power. The Shiʿi in Bahrain, a numerical majority, face tremendous persecution at the hands of the Sunni ruling elites. The Kurds, a large ethnic minority that inhabits four countries, still lack a state and suffer varying degrees of persecution in their countries. Millions of Copts in Egypt have not received their fair share of political resources and still suffer societal and state discrimination. Berbers, the natives of several North African states, have always complained about their marginalization and deprivation of their cultural rights. This is only a sample of what befalls minorities and the list goes on and on. The Middle East has not yet adopted the current and still evolving universal model of human rights and civil liberties—which is currently seriously challenged by the new wave of right-wing populism. Most Middle Eastern states refuse to recognize the diversity of their populations and prefer to emphasize unity and homogeneity. It is true that some Middle Eastern countries have taken some steps to protect minority rights but those are mostly cosmetic or regime survival tactics. The region sadly remains pretty far from any meaningful concept of multiculturalism.
Overview
Saba 2012 emphasizes the status of minorities as a strong indicator of tolerance and pluralism; Fox 2013 examines discrimination against forty-seven minorities in seventeen Middle Eastern countries and finds forty-five of the forty-seven religious minorities experience varying degrees of discrimination; Ghanea 2004 examines the status of human rights of religious minorities and women in Muslim countries; Castellino and Cavanaugh 2013 examines the status of minorities after 2011 and explores the history, identity, legal provisions, and remedies available to minorities in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon; Kymlicka and Pföstl 2014 poses theoretical, normative, and general questions regarding multiculturalism and the status of minorities and presents several case studies covering several themes such as the Western Sahara, the Amazigh in Algeria, Palestinian Arab minority in Israel, the federalization of Iraq and the breakup of Sudan, and the Assyro-Chaldeans of Iraq; Longva and Roald 2012 presents an insightful analysis of the strategies of domination, resilience, and accommodation among both Muslim and non-Muslim minorities; Smooha 1990 explores a kind of state (ethnic democracy) that combines viable democratic institutions with institutionalized ethnic dominance and demonstrates its utility for Israel in treating its Arab minority; Saba 2016 shows that contradictions at the very heart of secularism have amplified and exacerbated Islamic hierarchy accentuating minority predicament; Nielsen 2003 explores the Islamic debate on human rights focusing especially on religious pluralism and the rights of religious minorities in Muslim countries.
Castellino, Joshua, and Kathleen A. Cavanaugh. Minority Rights in the Middle East. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
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An interesting and timely study of the status of minorities in the Middle East after 2011. The first part offers an overview of the region and the second examines the history, identity, legal provisions, and remedies available to minorities in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon.
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Fox, Jonathan. “Religious Discrimination against Religious Minorities in Middle Eastern Muslim States.” Civil Wars 15.4 (2013): 454–470.
DOI: 10.1080/13698249.2013.853413Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
A study examining discrimination against forty-seven religious minorities in seventeen Middle Eastern countries. The author finds evidence that forty-five of the forty-seven religious minorities experience varying degrees of discrimination and that it is highest against Hindus, Buddhists, Druze, and Bahai.
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Ghanea, Nazila. “Human Rights of Religious Minorities and of Women in the Middle East.” Human Rights Quarterly 26.3 (2004): 705–729.
DOI: 10.1353/hrq.2004.0035Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
The article examines the status of human rights of religious minorities and women in Muslim Middle Eastern countries in light of Muslim legal standards.
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İçduygu, Ahmet, and B. Ali Soner. “Turkish Minority Rights Regime: Between Difference and Equality.” Middle Eastern Studies 42.3 (2006): 447–468.
DOI: 10.1080/00263200500521370Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
A review of the Ottoman/Turkish treatment of its minority. The author reviews historical treatment of minority within the Ottoman Empire but also explores the republican minority rights regime and its sociopolitical ramifications for minorities and elaborates on the contemporary transformations in the republican regime.
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Kymlicka, Will, and Eva Pföstl. Multiculturalism and Minority Rights in the Arab World. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.
DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199675135.001.0001Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
The question of minorities and their rights became an urgent topic after the Arab Spring. The first part of the book asks theoretical questions regarding multiculturalism and the status of minorities while the second half offers a more empirical approach with cases studies covering the Western Sahara, the Amazigh in Algeria, Palestinian Arab minority in Israel, the federalization of Iraq and the breakup of Sudan, and the Assyro-Chaldeans of Iraq.
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Longva, Anh Nga, and Anne Sofie Roald, eds. Religious Minorities in the Middle East: Domination, Self-Empowerment, Accommodation. Leiden, The Netherlands, and Boston: Brill, 2012.
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An insightful analysis of the strategies of domination, resilience, and accommodation among both Muslim and non-Muslim minorities.
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Nielsen, Jorgen S. “Contemporary Discussions on Religious Minorities in Muslim Countries.” Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations 14.3 (2003): 325–335.
DOI: 10.1080/09596410305269Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
For a while and especially after the end of the Cold War, an Islamic debate regarding human rights has been developing, focusing especially on religious pluralism and the rights of religious minorities in Muslim countries. The article reviews Islamic reactions to the UN charter and then examines in more detail some of those debates and arguments among major Islamic intellectuals.
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Saba, Mahmood. “Religious Freedom, the Minority Question, and Geopolitics in the Middle East.” Comparative Studies in Society and History 54.2 (2012): 418–446.
DOI: 10.1017/S0010417512000096Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
Thoughtful discussion of the question of collective and individual religious freedoms in secular democracies and authoritarian states with a focus on the status of minorities as a strong indicator of tolerance and pluralism.
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Saba, Mahmood. Religious Difference in a Secular Age: A Minority Report. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2016.
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A theoretically grounded study of secularism, religion, and minority rights. The common wisdom states that minority plight in the region is an outcome of the failure of secularism. But Saba Mahmood shows that contradictions at the very heart of secularism have amplified and exacerbated Islamic hierarchy accentuating minority predicament. The author studies secular legal concepts in the colonial and post-colonial Middle East and draws on extensive fieldwork in Egypt studying the Copts and the Bahaʾis.
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Smooha, Sammy. “Minority Status in an Ethnic Democracy: The Status of the Arab Minority in Israel.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 13.3 (1990): 389–413.
DOI: 10.1080/01419870.1990.9993679Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
Smooha explores a kind of state (ethnic democracy) that combines viable democratic institutions with institutionalized ethnic dominance and demonstrates its utility for Israel in treating its Arab minority.
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Minorities and the Arab Spring
During its first year, the Arab Spring raised hopes of democratization and liberalization but soon failed to deliver on such rosy promises. Initially, minorities supported the Arab Spring hoping that new regimes that respect minority rights would replace the fading dictatorships, but as the upheavals progressed minorities realized the dangers of uncertainty and the grave risks that the rise of Islamists creates for them. A quick look at the fate of minorities in the region justifies minorities’ fears. Christians and other minorities in Iraq were subjected to severe repression. Christians in Syria came under attack and their very existence was threatened. Copts in Egypt, especially the active youth, initially played a leading role in the revolution only to discover that it brought to power the Muslim Brotherhood whose respect for Christians’ rights are suspect at least. Copts in Egypt subsequently suffered and agonized and ultimately supported a military coup that ended the short-lived Muslim Brotherhood’s era. The Druze in Syria, an unorthodox Islamic community, were attacked by ISIS and other Islamists who tried to convert them to Sunni orthodoxy. The Alawites in Syria, another unorthodox Islamic community, were subjected to existential threats for their support for the Assad regime. Should the rebels in Syria win the war, the fate of the Alawites might be in question. The Shiʿi in Bahrain joined the wave of the Arab Spring revolutions to demand their civil and political rights only to be repressed by the Bahraini regime. The Shiʿi in Saudi Arabia were likewise oppressed and their movement depicted as sectarian sedition manipulated by the Persian enemy. The Kurds might turn out to be the accidental winners of the Arab Spring: The Kurds of Syria managed to create their own self-administered region and gradually became US allies—but their fragile autonomous region has come under intense Turkish assault while their supposed American ally is watching. The Kurdish autonomous region in Iraq emerged as a bulwark of stability and resistance against ISIS incursions and as a trusted US ally. The Zaydi community in Yemen, led by the Houthi movement, seemed to be winners as their status greatly improved following the Arab Spring and the overthrow of the Saleh regime; however, events became more complicated and the Zaydi community is now struggling against a scorched earth military campaign led by Saudi Arabia. In this impoverished country, it is very unlikely for the Zaydis to be winners even if they succeeded in halting the Saudi attacks; but time will tell. Overall, the Arab Spring has not been kind to minorities. Instead of ushering in democracy and liberalism, it indeed created new fears, exacerbated older ones, and unleashed dark forces of illiberalism, fanatical Islamism, and majoritarian impulses that threatened the already fragile status of minorities.
General Overview
Parker and Nasrallah 2017 is an exploration of the status of minorities and their reactions to the Arab Spring, particularly in its early years; Bahlul 2018 evaluates the debates that raged during the Arab Spring regarding the civic state and the role of religion in politics; El-Issawi 2011 asked essential questions about the transformative potential of the Arab Spring regarding the status of minorities and the tensions between secularism and religion; Ennaji 2014 tackles the question of multiculturalism, democracy, and the Arab Spring in North Africa shedding light on ethnic and religious minorities such as the Berbers and Copts in Morocco and Egypt; Zabad 2017 offers a comprehensive and theoretically oriented overview of the status of minorities in the Middle East in the wake of the Arab Spring and how each minority reacted to the opportunities or risks the upheavals presented; Abu-Munshar 2012 rejects the common misperception that Islam is inherently violent, especially toward minorities, and draws on Qurʾanic verses and the life of the Prophet to demonstrate that Islam actually accepts, encourages, and even celebrates pluralism and diversity; Phillips 2012 describes how the Syrian uprising descended into bloody sectarian civil war; Hinnebusch 2016 offers a rich theoretical discussion of the concept of sectarianization, its genesis, its different types, and uses and misuses; Darwich and Fakhoury 2016 rejects traditional approaches (primordial, instrumental, and rational) and instead employs securitization theory to show how the “other” is depicted as an existential security threat; Felsch and Wählisch 2016 discusses important majority-minority interactions such as the role of Hezbollah in the Syrian conflict and the rise of jihadi movements and Christian nationalism in Lebanon in the wake of the Arab Spring; Cooper 2016 describe the first three years of the Syrian upheavals and how they descended into sectarian/proxy war.
Abu-Munshar, Maher Y. “In the Shadow of the ‘Arab Spring’: The Fate of Non-Muslims under Islamist Rule.” Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations 23.4 (2012): 487–503.
DOI: 10.1080/09596410.2012.712434Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
The bloody clashes between Christians and Muslims in Egypt in the wake of the Arab Spring reinforced the misconception that Islam is inherently violent. Drawing on Qurʾanic verses and the life of the Prophet, this article sets out to explain how Islam accepts, encourages, and even celebrates pluralism and diversity.
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Bahlul, Raja. Religion. “Democracy and the ‘Dawla Madaniyya’ of the Arab Spring.” Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations 29.3 (2018): 331–347.
DOI: 10.1080/09596410.2018.1491135Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
The article evaluates the debates that raged on during the Arab Spring about the emergence of the civic state and the role of religion in democratic politics.
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Cooper, Tom. Syrian Conflagration: The Syrian Civil War, 2011–2013. Warwick, UK: Helion, 2016.
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A short descriptive overview of the first three years of the Syrian conflict and how a peaceful revolution descended into a brutal civil war/proxy war with significant sectarian dimensions.
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Darwich, M., and Fakhoury, T. “Casting the Other as an Existential Threat: The Securitisation of Sectarianism in the International Relations of the Syria Crisis.” Global Discourse 6.4 (2016): 712–732.
DOI: 10.1080/23269995.2016.1259231Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
The Syrian civil war has intensified the Sunni- Shiʿite divide bringing it to the center of regional politics. This article asks why and how sectarian identities have acquired security dimension by depicting the other as an existential security threat. The article rejects traditional approaches and instead employs securitization theory by examining the speech acts of the actors.
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El-Issawi, Fatima. “The Arab Spring and the Challenge of Minority Rights: Will the Arab Revolutions Overcome the Legacy of the Past?” European View 10.2 (2011): 249–258.
DOI: 10.1007/s12290-011-0183-1Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
Even though the verdict is out—the Arab Spring has failed minorities, at least so far—the article asked essential and relevant questions back then and the author presented persuasive arguments about the tensions between secularism and the role of religion in Arab states and the struggles of non-Islamic minorities.
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Ennaji, Moha, ed. Multiculturalism and Democracy in North Africa: Aftermath of the Arab Spring. London: Routledge, 2014.
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There is no doubt that the Arab world lags behind in granting minorities their cultural and political rights but the Arab Spring might have created an opportunity to approach those matters more openly. This is among the first books that tackles the question of multiculturalism, democracy, and the Arab Spring in North Africa and is particularly relevant shedding light on ethnic and religious minorities such as the Berbers in Morocco and the Copts in Egypt.
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Felsch, Maximilian, and Martin Wählisch, eds. Lebanon and the Arab Uprisings: In the Eye of the Hurricane. London: Routledge, 2016.
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Several chapters are of particular importance for majority-minority relations: “The Role of Hizbullah in the Syrian Conflict,” by Magnus Ranstorp, “Jihadism in Lebanon after the Syrian Uprising,” by Aaron Y. Zelin, and “The Rise of Christian Nationalism in Lebanon,” by Maximilian Felsch.
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Hinnebusch, Raymond. “The Sectarian Revolution in the Middle East.” Revolutions: Global Trends & Regional Issues 4.1 (2016): 120–152.
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A very rich theoretical discussion of the concept of sectarianization, its genesis, its different types, uses and misuses, and its impact on the region and the Sunni- Shiʿite divide, especially in the wake of the Arab Spring.
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Parker, K. Scott, and Tony E. Nasrallah. Middle Eastern Minorities and the Arab Spring: Identity and Community in the Twenty-First Century. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2017.
DOI: 10.31826/9781463237301Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
A very useful exploration of the status of minorities and their reactions to the Arab Spring, especially in its early years. The book is divided into three parts. The first deals with ethnic and linguistic minorities, such as the Kurds, the Amazigh, and the Armenians. The second deals with religious minorities: the Alawites, the Druze, the Ismailis, Christians, and the Shiʿi. The last section tackles what the authors call “Other minorities” in reference to Palestinians in Israel and the diasporas.
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Phillips, Christopher. “Syria’s Bloody Arab Spring.” In After the Arab Spring: Power Shift in the Middle East? Edited by Nicholas Kitchen, 37–42. IDEAS Reports London: LSE IDEAS, Special Report (SR011), London School of Economics and Political Science, 2012.
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A description of the descent of the Syrian uprising into bloody sectarian civil war.
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Zabad, Ibrahim. Middle Eastern Minorities: The Impact of the Arab Spring. London: Routledge, 2017.
DOI: 10.4324/9781315595207Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
The focus of this book is exclusively on the fate of minorities in the wake of the Arab Spring. Instead of ushering in democracy, the revolutionary upheavals created chaos and fear. Zabad uses historical sources and first-hand interviews to describe the strategies used to avail themselves of the opportunities presented and to confront the risks posed. The book provides a rich trove of information and insights generated from ten cases.
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Christians and the Arab Spring
Overall, Christians did not benefit from the Arab Spring—a fact that became very apparent particularly in Egypt where some Copts, especially the youth, initially joined the revolution but ended up supporting the military coup that returned Egypt to its pre-revolution era. Hager 2018 discusses the varying attitudes of several Islamist players, especially the Salafi Nur Party and al-Gamāʿa al-Islāmiyya, toward the Copts seeing them as enemies, adversaries, traitors, infidels, while demonstrating that Coptic activism does shape how Islamists view the Copts; Iskander 2012 explores Coptic-state relations in the wake of the Arab Spring and the role of the church in Coptic politics; Tadros 2013 asks why sectarian violence has increased in the post-Mubarak era and how this relates to other minorities in the Middle East; Fahmi 2018 explores the various attitudes of the Christian communities toward the Arab Spring in Syria; Khoury 2011 reviews the various attitudes of Christian communities in the wake of the Arab Spring and tries to find explanations for those various attitudes while arguing that Christians in Syria need to support the uprisings lest they lose their future roles; Khashan 2014 argues that the predicament of Christians in the wake of the Arab Spring is “unmistakably bleak”; Haiduc-Dale 2015 studies the role Christians played in the Palestinian national liberation movement and their determination to be perceived as Palestinian Arabs first in order to demonstrate that Muslim-Christian relations could also be shaped by how Christians act.
Fahmi, Georges. The Future of Syrian Christians after the Arab Spring. Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, Research Project Report, Middle East Directions. Badia Fiesolana, Italy: European University Institute, 2018.
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A research paper that probes the various attitudes of Syrian Christians toward the Arab Spring, concluding that the community is not homogenous and its attitudes vary according to safety and public services interests and that the future of Christians in Syria can’t be separated from the future of other religious communities in the region.
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Hager, Anna. “From ‘Polytheists’ to ‘Partners in the Nation’: Islamist Attitudes Towards Coptic Egyptians in Post-revolutionary Egypt (2011–2013).” Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations 29.3 (2018): 289–308.
DOI: 10.1080/09596410.2018.1480337Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
Egypt stands out for the activism of its Coptic community where many Coptic leaders were among the revolutionaries who brought down the Mubarak regime. However, the Arab Spring did not bring in democracy but rather helped Islamists emerge as powerful players who won parliamentary and presidential elections. The article discusses the varying attitudes of various Islamist players, especially Salafi Nur Party and al-Gamāʿa al-Islāmiyya, toward the Copts and argues that Coptic activism did shape Islamists’ views of the Copts.
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Haiduc-Dale. “Noah. Rejecting Sectarianism: Palestinian Christians’ Role in Muslim–Christian Relations.” Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations 26.1 (2015): 75–88.
DOI: 10.1080/09596410.2014.965001Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
A very insightful article on the role Christians play in shaping Muslim-Christian relations. Most of the scholarly literature tackling Muslim-Christian relations focuses on the attitudes of Muslim groups and their behavior, but this article focuses instead on how Christians themselves could play a decisive role in shaping this relationship. The article uses the case of Christians in Palestine who insisted on playing a leading role in the Palestinian national liberation movement as Palestinian Arabs first.
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Iskander, Elizabeth. Sectarian Conflict in Egypt: Coptic Media, Identity and Representation. London: Routledge, 2012.
DOI: 10.4324/9780203119204Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
A much needed and comprehensive analysis of the Copts in Egypt covering various topics such as church/state relations, media coverage of the Copts, role of the Church in Coptic politics.
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Khashan, Hilal. “Arab Uprisings May Doom Middle East Christians.” Middle East Quarterly 21.4 (2014): 1–9.
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A short assessment of the status of Christians in the wake of the Arab Spring where the author argues that “The plight of Arab Christians is un-mistakably bleak.”
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Khoury, Doreen. “Christian minority in Syria: Is it Winter or Spring?.” Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung (November 15, 2011).
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A short review of the fate of Christians in various Arab countries, especially Egypt and Syria, in the wake of the Arab Spring upheavals presenting an overview of various scenarios and explanations of the variety of attitudes of Christians in Syria toward the regime and the revolution.
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Tadros, Mariz. Copts at the Crossroads: The Challenges of Building Inclusive Democracy in Egypt. Cairo and New York: AUC Press, 2013.
DOI: 10.5743/cairo/9789774165917.001.0001Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
An important contribution to the question of minorities and the Arab Spring focusing specifically on the Coptic minority in Egypt, asking why sectarian violence has increased in the post-Mubarak era and how this relates to other minorities in the Middle East.
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Kurds and the Arab Spring
The Kurds could have been the accidental winners of the Arab Spring, particularly in Syria and in Iraq, a fact born out in the renewed usage of the expression “Kurdish Spring.” Recent events, especially the Turkish assault against the Kurdish enclave in Syria and American inaction, might change the Kurdish fortunes. The edited volume Ahmed and Gunter 2013 covers various Kurdish militant and political movements and speaks of a Kurdish Spring where the Kurds are inching closer to realizing some of their legitimate rights while keeping in mind that the Kurdish Spring should be understood in the context of the longer Kurdish struggle in previous decades; Phillips 2015 explains how the Kurdish community’s fortunes are reversing from being victims into becoming major players in their countries; Romano and Gürses 2014 argues that resolving the Kurdish dilemma is essential for facilitating the processes of democratization and liberalization in the region; Gunter 2014 demonstrates how the Arab Spring helped the Kurdish minority in Syria create an autonomous region, called Rojava, run by the Kurds themselves, and the strategic implications of this event for the countries concerned and the region as a whole; Ünver Noi 2012 evaluates how the four countries of Turkey, Iraq, Syria, and Iran reacted to the Arab Spring and how such reactions impacted the Kurdish minority; Keskin 2015 evaluates the impact of the Arab Spring on the various Kurdish communities in the region; Allsopp 2014 offers a comprehensive and detailed account of Kurdish politics in Syria, especially their political parties, and their role in the Syrian civil war; Gunes 2019 discusses the emergence of the Kurds as a major political force who succeeded in establishing a semi-independent state in Iraq and an autonomous region in Syria, along with the current unfavorable conditions in Turkey; Torelli 2016 is a collection of essays dealing with some contemporary questions such as the role of the Kurds as vanguards in the fight against ISIS, the energy factor that complicates the Kurds’ dilemma, and the status of the Kurds in Turkey.
Ahmed, Mohammed M. A., and Michael M. Gunter, eds. The Kurdish Spring: Geopolitical Changes and the Kurds. Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda, 2013.
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A collection of twelve essays covering various Kurdish militant and political movements in Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkey. If there is a single minority in the region that benefited from the state breakdown in Syria, it is the Kurds; but Kurdish achievements also extend to Iraq where they already established a de facto state and have become major partners with the United States.
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Allsopp, Harriet. The Kurds of Syria: Political Parties and Identity in the Middle East. London: I. B. Tauris, 2014.
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The book offers a comprehensive and detailed account of the Kurds in Syria, especially their political parties, in a chronological fashion beginning with the 1920s and until 2014. It is very erudite and well-researched account focusing on Kurdish political parties, tribal organizations, their internal conflicts, and finally their status in the Syrian civil war and the emergence of the PYD as the strongest Kurdish party that managed to play an extremely critical role in defending Kurdish territories against Salafi jihadists’ incursions.
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Gunes, Cengiz. The Kurds in a New Middle East: The Changing Geopolitics of a Regional Conflict. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2019.
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-00539-9Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
Gunes wrote an exceptionally useful and relevant book. The author discusses the emergence of the Kurds as a major political force who succeeded in establishing a semi-independent state in Iraq and an autonomous region in Syria. The author also reviews recent developments in Turkey and the apparent reversal of fortunes they experienced.
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Gunter, M. Michael. Out of Nowhere: The Kurds of Syria in Peace and War. London: Hurst, 2014.
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Prior to the Arab Spring, the Kurds of Syria were little noticed by scholars or policymakers. However, the increasing pressures on the Assad regime following the armed insurgency forced the withdrawal of Syrian armed forces from Kurdish areas; suddenly the Kurds, effortlessly, attained autonomy and emerged, out of nowhere, to become decisive players in shaping the fate of Syria and the region.
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Keskin, Turan. “The Impact of the Arab Uprisings on the Kurds,” In Authoritarianism in the Middle East: Before and After the Arab Uprisings. Edited by Jülide Karakoç, 127–149. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.
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This chapter evaluates the impact of the Arab Spring on the various Kurdish communities in the region.
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Phillips, David L. The Kurdish Spring: A New Map of the Middle East. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 2015.
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The author explains the Kurdish question in Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Turkey and how Kurdish fortunes are changing from being victims into becoming major players in the region and an ascending political community in their respective countries.
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Romano, David, and Mehmet Gürses, eds. Conflict, Democratization, and the Kurds in the Middle East: Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.
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An edited volume that deals with the fate of the Kurds in Turkey, Iran, Syria, and Iraq and how resolving their dilemma might help in democratizing and liberalizing the region. The book also tackles the recent developments in the wake of the Arab Spring. The chapter on Syria, “The Emergence of Western Kurdistan and the Future of Syria,” by Robert Lowe deals with the emergence of an autonomous Kurdish region in Syria.
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Torelli, Stefano M., ed. Kurdistan: An Invisible Nation. Milan, Italy: Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale (ISPI), 2016.
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A collection of essays dealing with some contemporary questions such as the role of the Kurds as vanguards in the fight against ISIS, the energy factor that complicates the Kurds’ dilemma, and the status of the Kurds in Turkey.
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Ünver Noi, Aylin. “The Arab Spring, Its Effects on the Kurds, and the Approaches of Turkey, Iran, Syria and Iraq on the Kurdish Issue.” Middle East Review of International Affairs 16.2 (2012): 15–29.
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An evaluation of how the four states of Turkey, Iran, Syria, and Iraq, where substantial Kurdish minorities live, have reacted to the Arab Spring and how those reactions particularly impacted the Kurdish minority and its future prospects.
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The Shiʿi and the Arab Spring
The status of the Shiʿi tremendously worsened especially in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia where they directly felt the oppressive hands of dictatorial regimes intent on preserving the status quo and preventing substantial change. The Shiʿite beliefs, unorthodox in eyes of some Sunnis, made them particularly vulnerable to accusations of sectarian sedition. Cigar 2015 discusses the emergence and consolidation of Shiʿite militia forces in Iraq that confronted ISIS and their potential impact on Iraq and the region; Matthiesen 2012 explores the dynamics of the Shiʿite youth movement that led the uprising against the Saudi government in the Eastern Province and the instruments that the Saudis employed to suppress the movement by depicting it as a sectarian crusade mobilized by the Persian enemy; Matthiesen 2013 offers an insightful and detailed analysis of the Shiʿite uprisings in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Kuwait and how the government repressed them by resorting to sectarian sedition arguing that such methods were successful in the short run but will be detrimental for the future of those countries in the long run; Al-Rawi 2015 offers an analysis of the Shiʿite uprising in Bahrain, illustrating how social media could be useful as an instrument for popular mobilization but could also serve as a platform for sowing sectarian divisions; Patterson 2015 analyzes the status of the Shiʿi in the Gulf countries arguing that repression is not only carried out by the state by also by societal forces; Alagha 2014 analyzes the Lebanese Shiʿite political party, Hezbollah, and its involvement in the Syrian civil war and the intensification of sectarian tensions in Lebanon; Choucair 2016 assesses the losses and gains of Hezbollah’s involvement in the Syrian civil war; El Zein 2017 offers a strategic explanation of the reasons that motivated Hezbollah to get involved in the Syrian civil war, arguing that the party views Syria as an essential pillar of the axis of resistance.
Alagha, Joseph. “Hezbollah and the Arab Spring.” Contemporary Review of the Middle East 1.2 (2014): 189–206.
DOI: 10.1177/2347798914532730Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
An analysis of the Shiʿite political party, Hezbollah, and its involvement in the Syrian civil war and the intensification of the Sunni-Shiʿite divide in Lebanon.
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Al-Rawi, Ahmed K. “Sectarianism and the Arab Spring: Framing the Popular Protests in Bahrain.” Global Media and Communication 11.1 (2015): 25–42.
DOI: 10.1177/1742766515573550Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
An analysis of the Shiʿite uprising in Bahrain and the sectarian instruments the Sunni monarchy resorted to in order to suppress demands for equal citizenship and democratization. The article also shows how social media could be a double-edged sword, a valuable venue in the public sphere but at the same time a platform for spreading sectarian sedition and sowing divisions.
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Choucair, Chafic. “Hezbollah in Syria: Gains, Losses and Changes.” Al Jazeera Center for Studies (June 1, 2016).
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An assessment of Hezbollah’s involvement in the Syrian civil war focusing on its losses and gains.
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Cigar, Norman. Iraq’s Shia Warlords and Their Militias: Political and Security Challenges and Options. Carlisle, PA: Strategic Studies Institute (SSI) and U.S. Army War College, 2015.
DOI: 10.21236/ADA618219Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
A monograph on the rise and consolidation of Shiʿite militia forces in Iraq and their potential impact on Iraq and the region. After ISIS controlled large Iraqi territories, the Shiʿite leadership called for massive mobilization which resulted in the creation of several Shiʿite militias that played a decisive role in defeating ISIS. However, such militias did not dissolve after they realized their major objective; instead, they became major players with potential repercussions on Sunni- Shiʿite reconciliation.
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El Zein, Hatem. “The Conflict over the Future of Syria from Hezbollah’s Perspective: The Axis of Resistance at Stake.” Centre for Counter Hegemonic Studies, Research Paper 1/17 (2017).
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An analysis of the causes that pushed Hezbollah to intervene in Syria offering a strategic perspective that considers Syria an essential leg of the axis of the resistance.
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Matthiesen, Toby. “A “Saudi Spring?”: The Shi’a Protest Movement in the Eastern Province 2011–2012.” The Middle East Journal 66.4 (2012): 628–659.
DOI: 10.3751/66.4.14Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
Many scholars argued that the oil-rich Gulf monarchies will not be swept by the wave of the Arab Spring revolutions, thanks to their financial resources. However, the Shiʿite minority, historically repressed by the Wahhabi kingdom, rebelled. The article explores the dynamics of this Shiʿite youth movement and how the Saudi government repressed the uprising by using anti- Shiʿite rhetoric ensuring that the Saudi Spring will be viewed in sectarian terms.
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Matthiesen, Toby. Sectarian Gulf: Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the Arab Spring That Wasn’t. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2013.
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A detailed account and analysis of the uprisings in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain and how the state put them down by resorting mainly to sectarian sedition and invoking the Shiʿite menace. Demands for democratization and human rights that the protestors rebelled for became in the regimes’ eyes sectarian demands manipulated by the Iranian regime. Matthiesen argues that such strategies have proved to be successful in the short run but might tear apart those societies in the future.
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Patterson, Molly. “The Shi’a Spring: Shi’a Resistance and the Arab Spring Movement in the GCC States.” Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Multidisciplinary Studies 4.1 (2015).
DOI: 10.17077/2168-538X.1058Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
The article offers an analysis of the Shiite uprisings in the Gulf countries and argues that the Shiʿi have been historically repressed and politically marginalized not only by states but also by citizens of those countries. The article examines both overt and covert forms of discrimination that the Shiʿi have been subjected to.
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Berbers and the Arab Spring
The Berbers might have also benefited from the Arab Spring and the new emerging discourses on democratization, liberalization, and civil rights. The Berbers saw increasing interest in accommodating their cultural rights in a couple of North African states, particularly in Morocco where a traveler could now see Amazigh writings on public display. Maddy-Weitzman 2015 argues that the Amazigh might benefit from the opportunities the Arab Spring created by striking alliances with the government and societal groups to balance against the Islamist threat; Kohl 2014 offers an insightful analysis of minorities in Libya, the Berber, the Tuareg, and the Tebu, and their mobilization for civil and political rights after the fall of the Qaddafi regime; Fromherz 2014 explores how each Berber community in Algeria, Libya, and Morocco used different methods and instruments to mobilize for political and civil rights in the wake of the Arab Spring; Willis 2015 studies the status of the Amazigh in Libya in the wake of the fall of the Qaddafi regime; Lefèvre 2016 argues that the Berber question is not equal to the Kurdish question in the Levant because the Berbers as a community are fragmented along social, tribal, ideological, and even religious lines and thus pan-Berber secessionism is not really a feasible phenomenon.
Fromherz, Allen. “Between Springs: The Berber Dilemma.” The Muslim World 104.3 (2014): 240–249.
DOI: 10.1111/muwo.12054Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
A much needed article on the Berbers in Algeria, Libya, and Morocco, explaining the dilemma of living in authoritarian regimes or risking uncertainty and the prospects of Islamist governance that might deny them all their hard-won ethnic and cultural rights. The article explores how each Berber community in each country used different methods and instruments to mobilize for political and civil rights in the wake of the Arab Spring.
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Kohl, Ines. “Libya’s ‘Major Minorities’. Berber, Tuareg and Tebu: Multiple Narratives of Citizenship, Language and Border Control.” Middle East Critique 23.4 (2014): 423–438.
DOI: 10.1080/19436149.2014.970384Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
An insightful analysis of the Berber, the Tuareg, and the Tebu minorities in Libya and their mobilization for civil and political rights after the fall of the Qaddafi regime. The author uses citizenship, language and border control to illustrate the complexities of identity-making processes among these groups.
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Lefèvre, Raphaël. “North Africa’s ‘Berber question.’” The Journal of North African Studies 21.4 (2016): 545–549.
DOI: 10.1080/13629387.2016.1200872Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
A short commentary on the “Berber” question in North Africa where the author explores the nature of Berber activism across several countries but argues that the Berber question is not equal to the Kurdish question in the Levant because the Berbers as a community are fragmented along social, tribal, ideological, and even religious lines, thus the idea of a Pan-Berber secessionism might not be on the offing anytime soon.
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Maddy-Weitzman, Bruce. “A Turning Point? The Arab Spring and the Amazigh Movement.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 38.14 (2015): 2499–2515.
DOI: 10.1080/01419870.2015.1061139Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
The Amazigh in North Africa might be one of the beneficiaries of the Arab Spring. The article evaluates the prospects of the Amazigh attaining cultural and political rights and argues that they could do so by striking alliances with the government and societal groups to balance against the Islamist threat.
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Willis, Michael J. “Berbers in an Arab Spring: The Politics of Amazigh Identity and the North African Uprisings.” In North African Politics: Change and Continuity. Edited by Yahia H. Zoubir and Gregory White. London: Routledge, 2015.
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A nice chapter that explores the Amazigh identity in Libya focusing on the aftermath of the overthrow of the Qaddafi regime and its repercussions for Libya and its minorities.
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The Alawites and the Arab Spring
Being in power has its own disadvantages, especially in authoritarian regimes. The Alawites are supposedly the power-holders in Syria, a fact that makes them a hated group because of the support they lend to the Assad regime. Indeed, if there is a single minority community whose status was ignored in both policymaking circles and in academia, it is the Alawites. However, if the rebels were to win the war and overthrow the Assad regime, the Alawites’ very existence as a community might be endangered. Goldsmith 2015 argues that Alawite history is shaped by cycles of fear which stymies their integration into the Syrian society and that the Arab Spring offered an opportunity for the Alawite minority to get out of its fears and start a new chapter in the Syrian polity; Kerr and Larkin 2015 reviews several topics such as the genesis of the Alawite community, its fate under Ottoman rule, its ascending fortunes during the French mandate, and later its conflicts with the Muslim Brotherhood and the current status in the Syrian civil war; Phillips 2015 offers a modernist reading of the sectarian conflict in Syria, rejecting the primordialist interpretation and arguing that the mobilization of sectarian identities is an outcome of structural, economic, sociocultural, and political variables; Valter 2014 draws attention to the often-ignored fact that the Syrian opposition adopted early on “a verbal (and even physical) attitude which was very aggressive against the non-Sunni religious communities,” a very interesting point that sheds light on a topic that most of the literature on the Syrian civil war ignores; Farouk-Alli 2014 analyzes the question of sectarianism and shows how sectarian identities have been constantly manipulated by hegemonic powers such as the Ottomans, the French, and the Assad regime; Balanche 2018 uses original maps and graphics to trace the origins of sectarianism in Syria and to reevaluate the popular idea that the Assad regime singlehandedly manipulated the democratic and secular revolution into a sectarian civil war.
Balanche, Fabrice. Sectarianism in Syria’s Civil War. Washington, DC: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 2018.
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A very insightful and meticulously researched article on the genesis of sectarian identities in Syria. Balanche explains that sectarian identities have their roots in the Ottoman millet system and that the Assad regime’s policies exacerbated sectarian tensions. The author uses over seventy original maps and graphics to provide a deeper understanding of sectarianism in the ongoing conflict and to reevaluate the common idea that the Assad regime single-handedly transformed a democratic and secular uprising into sectarian bloodshed.
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Farouk-Alli, Aslam. “Sectarianism in Alawi Syria: Exploring the Paradoxes of Politics and Religion.” Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs 34.3 (2014): 207–226.
DOI: 10.1080/13602004.2014.946761Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
An analysis of the question of sectarianism in Syria and its multiple uses. The author reviews the rise of the Alawites from an oppressed minority into the ruling elites and shows how sectarian identities have been constantly manipulated by hegemonic powers such as the Ottomans, the French colonizers, and the Assad regime. The author suggests that the only way out of the sectarian quagmire is the creation of an inclusive national identity but admits that this is highly idealistic.
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Goldsmith, Leon. Cycle of Fear: Syria’s Alawites in War and Peace. London: Hurst, 2015.
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A very readable and erudite survey of Alawite history and politics. The author argues that Alawite history is shaped by cycles of fear and insecurity which stymied their integration into the Syrian polity. Goldsmith believes that the Arab Spring could have served as an opportunity to break this cycle of fear allowing the Alawites to start a new chapter. The book is based on extensive fieldwork and personal interviews with Alawite leaders.
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Kerr, Michael, and Craig Larkin, eds. The Alawis of Syria: War, Faith and Politics in the Levant. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015.
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An edited volume that explores the genesis of the Alawites and their fate during the Ottoman period and later during the French mandate. The book delves deeply into the contemporary history of the Alawites as their influence rose in the 1970s but which led to the deadly conflict with the Muslim Brotherhood. The book also deals with the Arab Spring upheavals which further complicated the Alawite-Sunni relationship.
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Phillips, Christopher. “Sectarianism and Conflict in Syria.” Third World Quarterly 36.2 (2015): 357–376.
DOI: 10.1080/01436597.2015.1015788Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
The article rejects the simplistic sectarian narrative of the Syrian civil war and instead opts for a modernist case showing how sectarian identities have developed in interrelated contexts and that the violent mobilization of sectarian identities is the outcome of structural, economic, sociocultural, and political variables.
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Valter, Stéphane. “The Syrian War: Religious & Political Representations.” Syria Studies 6.3 (2014): 1–36.
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The author argues that most of the literature on the Syrian civil war focuses on the peaceful beginnings of the uprising whereas in reality the opposition adopted early on “a verbal (and even physical) attitude which was very aggressive against the non-Sunni religious communities.” This is really significant point that sheds light on a topic that most of the academic literature simply ignores.
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Muslim-Christian Relations
Muslim-Christian relationship is shaped by a legacy of misunderstanding, mistrust, misperceptions, and hostilities. Following the Arab-Muslim conquest of the Middle East, Christians gradually became a minority, but they still maintain substantial presence in major Middle Eastern countries, mostly in Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria. Their number is estimated to be between 10 and 15 million. Even though the Middle East is the birthplace of Christianity, it is nowadays dominated, numerically and culturally, by Muslims. Christians in the region take pride in being natives of the countries they inhabit. Copts in Egypt see themselves as the descendants of the Pharaohs. Some Lebanese Christians perceive themselves as the descendants of the ancient Phoenicians, while some Christians in Iraq see themselves as the offspring of the Assyrians and Chaldeans. Such claims to “firstness” provide Christians with a sense of pride and persistence in a region that was once theirs but has been steadily slipping away from them. Certain critical events problematized the complex relationship between the two communities: the expansion of Muslims into Christian lands (what is now called the Middle East) and the subsequent conversions of a large number of Christians into Muslims; the Crusades that left a bitter and lasting legacy; the fall of Constantinople in the middle of the 15th century and the subsequent Ottoman campaigns into Christian Europe; the expulsion of Muslims from the Iberian Peninsula; and in the last two centuries Western hegemony in the Middle East, which sometimes is depicted as a continuation of the Crusades. Grievances thus come from both sides. But it is Christians who have become a minority right in the heartland where Christianity itself was born. Not all is lost and the relationship between the two religious communities was often more peaceful than belligerent. Medieval Andalusia stands as a good example of convivencia, mutual understanding and respect, even though this amicable relationship was far from perfect and did not last long. Christians, generally speaking, support the separation of the state and religion whereas a rising trend of Islamism that treats religion and politics as inseparable has prevailed in the region since the mid-1970s. The Arab Spring upheavals only lent credence to such fears. Similarly, the rising trends of Islamophobia in the West, reinvigorated recently by the rise of right-wing populism, have only worsened relations between the two communities and fed fears and suspicion among Muslims that Christian minorities might become fifth columns serving the interests of the Christian West.
General Overview
Siddiqui 2013 is a collection of twenty-three essays that mainly focuses on dialogues between Christians and Muslims illustrating how they have approached each other theologically; Becker 2015 explains how American missionaries played a formative role in the creation of a national identity among the Assyrian Christians in Iran and the political implications of this conversion as these groups endorsed demands for national autonomy; Freas 2016 offers an analysis of Christian Muslim relations in Ottoman Palestine showing that Christians were perceived or accepted on the basis of Arab-Islamic identity and arguing that Arab nationalism couldn’t really shed off its religious dimension; Makdisi 2000 argues that sectarian violence in Lebanon is a product of modernity and not a reaction against socioeconomic injustices or Westernization; Jenkins 2009 offers a comprehensive review of Christianity in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, a topic that is usually ignored in studies of the spread of Christianity; Jenkins argues that while those parts were more Christian back then, Christianity declined because of the spread of Islam, the Mongol conquest, and Christianity’s internal squabbles and divisions; Pacini 1999 is a collection of essays that explores the status of Christians in Egypt, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian territories focusing on the demographic decline of Christians in the region, their legal status, the role of the churches and Christian cultural production; Dalrymple 1997 journeys through the Middle East, reminding the readers that Christianity originated in those places and shedding light on Christian suffering and aspirations.
Becker, Adam H. Revival and Awakening: American Evangelical Missionaries in Iran and the Origins of Assyrian Nationalism. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2015.
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226145457.001.0001Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
An important book about the relationship between religion and nationalism in the Middle East. The book shows that American missionaries played a formative role in the creation of a national identity among the Assyrian Christians in Iran. Prior to this encounter, those Christian groups identified themselves as East Syrians, but following the missionary contacts came to identify themselves as Assyrians. Such a change had political implications as these groups endorsed demands for national autonomy.
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Dalrymple, William. From the Holy Mountain: A Journey Among the Christians of the Middle East. New York: Holt Paperbacks, 1997.
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This is a travel book at its best as the author journeys through the Middle East to explore the Christian communities and investigate their suffering, aspirations, future, etc. The book is worth reading at least as a reminder that Christianity originated in the East and that a large number of Christians still live there.
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Freas, Erik. Muslim-Christian Relations in Late-Ottoman Palestine: Where Nationalism and Religion Intersect. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016.
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An analysis of Christian Muslim relations in Ottoman Palestine that explores how Christians were perceived or accepted on the basis of Arab-Islamic identity. Freas offers an analysis of the religious dimension of Arab nationalism.
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Jenkins, Philip. The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia—and How It Died. San Francisco, CA: HarperOne, 2009.
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The book explores the early history of Christianity and Islam covering the period 200–1200. The folklore tale of the spread of Christianity assumes it started in Jerusalem, moved to Constantinople, and then Greece ignoring Christian experiences in the Middle East and other countries in the African and Asian continents. Eventually, the spread of Islam, the Mongol conquest, and Christianity’s internal divisions contributed to the decline of Christianity in those regions.
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Makdisi, Ussama. The Culture of Sectarianism: Community, History, and Violence in Nineteenth-Century Ottoman Lebanon. Berkley: University of California Press, 2000.
DOI: 10.1525/california/9780520218451.001.0001Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
Makdisi offered a nuanced, insightful and enlightening explanation of sectarian violence in Ottoman Lebanon arguing that sectarian violence was a product of modernity and not, as common wisdom held, a reaction against Westernization or an outcome of socioeconomic iniquities.
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Pacini, Andrea, ed. Christian Communities in the Arab Middle East: The Challenge of the Future. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1999.
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A collection of essays that explores the status of Christians in the contemporary Middle East, including Christians in Egypt, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Palestinian territories, Iraq, and Syria. The collection explores general issues such as the demographic decline of Christians in the region, their legal status, the role of Churches, the cultural production of Christians and their overall reactions to their status.
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Siddiqui, Mona, ed. The Routledge Reader in Christian-Muslim Relations. London and New York: Routledge, 2013.
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The resurgence of religion in world politics has given rise to an increasing interest in dialogues between various faiths, especially between Christians and Muslims. A collection of twenty-three essays that mainly focuses on theological concerns and not on social or political conflicts. The selection is varied and covers wide range of topics and mainly illustrates how Muslims and Christians have approached each other theologically.
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Peace, Coexistence, Dialogue
Abu-Nimer and Augsburger 2009 explores dialogue between Muslims and Evangelicals paying attention to Evangelical missionary activities and the misperception among the two communities; Weitz 2018 studies how interactions between Muslims and Christians impacted the creation of Christian legal systems as Christian bishops strove to create laws to preserve Christian identity and culture; Tieszen 2017 explores how venerating crosses and crucifixes, essential Christian practices, provoked medieval Muslim societies and how Christians reacted and preserved their rituals; Anagnostopoulos 2017 investigates the complex interactions between Orthodox Christians and Muslims in Greece and Turkey and offers an optimistic assessment of those interactions suggesting that this peaceful coexistence is a model to be pursued by other countries; Bill and Williams 2002 compares Roman Catholicism and Shiʿite Islam and finds doctrinal, structural, and sociopolitical similarities; O’Mahony, et al. 2004 and O’Mahony, et al. 2006 highlight commonalities between the two faiths and explore the role of faith and reason, tradition, and authority in shaping the believers’ lives; Bulliet 2004 challenges the common view that Islam and Christianity hold incompatible views and argues that Islam and Christian societies belong to a single historical civilization; Griffith 2008 offers an exceptionally enlightening study of the indigenous Christian communities that lived under Islamic rule from the 7th through the 13th century and argues that even though Islam overshadowed Christians, it still left them some space to develop their own intellectual and theological culture in Arabic.
Abu-Nimer, Mohammed, and David Augsburger, eds. Peace-Building by, between, and beyond Muslims and Evangelical Christians. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2009.
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A useful source for dialogue between Muslims and Evangelical Christians covering some sensitive topics such as Evangelical missionary activities and misperceptions among the two communities.
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Anagnostopoulos, Archimandrite Nikodemos. Orthodoxy and Islam: Theology and Muslim–Christian Relations in Modern Greece and Turkey. London: Routledge, 2017.
DOI: 10.4324/9781315297934Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
The book explores the complicated relationship between Orthodox Christianity and Islam in both Greece and Turkey. The book offers an optimistic assessment of the interactions between Muslims and Christians in both countries and suggests that this peaceful coexistence is a model to be pursued by other countries.
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Bill, James, and John A. Williams. Roman Catholics and Shiʿi Muslims: Prayer, Passion and Politics. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002.
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A work of comparative theology; Twelver Shiʿi Islam and Roman Catholicism might seem to have little in common but the authors disagree and successfully tease out very useful comparisons and highlight doctrinal, structural, and sociopolitical similarities.
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Bulliet, Richard W. The Case for Islamo-Christian Civilization. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.
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Conventional wisdom holds that Christianity and Islam hold incompatible views. Richard W. Bulliet, the pre-eminent Middle Eastern scholar, challenges this view and similar ideas such as the clash of civilization thesis. The first chapter, “Islamo-Christian Civilization,” in which the author argues that Islamic and Christian societies belong to a single historical civilization, is very informative and enlightening and deserves a very careful reading
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Griffith, Sidney H. The Church in the Shadow of the Mosque: Christians and Muslims in the World of Islam. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2008.
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An enlightening study of the indigenous Christian communities that lived under Islamic rule from the 7th through the 13th century. Griffith argues that even though Islam overshadowed Christianity, it still left Christians some space to develop their theological culture in Arabic. The book concludes with an exploration of convivencia between Muslims and Christians in the Middle Ages hinting that this could be grounds for Islamic-Christian mutual understanding in the present.
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O’Mahony, Anthony, Wulstan Peterburs, and Mohammad A. Shomali, eds. Catholics and Shi’a in Dialogue: Studies in Theology and Spirituality. London: Melisende, 2004.
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The volume includes articles that highlight commonalities between Catholics and Shiʿite Muslims.
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O’Mahony, Anthony, Mohammad A. Shomali, and Wulstan Peterburs, eds. A Catholic-Shi’a Engagement: Faith and Reason in Theory and Practice. London: Melisende, 2006.
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This is the second volume to emerge out of the conference on the Shiʿite -Catholic dialogue initiative, a group of scholars who seek to encourage dialogue between Islam and Christianity. The essays explore the role of faith and reason, tradition, and authority in shaping the faithful’s lives.
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Tieszen, Charles. Cross Veneration in the Medieval Islamic World: Christian Identity and Practice under Muslim Rule. London: I. B. Tauris, 2017.
DOI: 10.5040/9781350985964Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
Venerating crosses and crucifixes stands until today as one of the essential and most cherished practices of Christians worldwide. But those symbols and the accompanying rituals provoked the predominantly Muslim medieval Middle East. The book probes how Christians reacted to those sensitivities and how they preserved those practices.
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Weitz, Lev E. Between Christ and Caliph: Law, Marriage, and Christian Community in Early Islam. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018.
DOI: 10.9783/9780812295115Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
Even though the medieval Middle East was overwhelmingly Islamic, its society was still pluralistic and multi-confessional. This is a study of how interactions between Muslims and Christians impacted the creation of legal systems. As a reaction to the growth of Islamic laws and governance in the medieval Middle East, Syrian Christian bishops strove to preserve their distinct identity, faith, and culture through enacting new laws to regulate intermarriages, polygamy, and inheritance that distinguish their followers from Jews and Muslims.
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Persecution and Oppression
Sahner 2019 asks how the medieval Middle East was transformed from a Christian-majority region into a Muslim-majority world and argues that even though Christians did not experience massive persecution, the serious episodic bouts of violence they were subjected to played a serious role in this transformation; Zeidan 1999 argues that the root causes of the tensions between Muslims and Christians in Egypt lie in the lack of a clear definition of Egyptian national identity and community; Fletcher 2004 presents a short and informative history of the relations, connections, and differences between Muslims and Christians in the Middle Ages; the argument of Ye’or 1996 could be summed up in the negative impact the twin institutions of jihad (conceived mostly as war) and dhimmitude (conceived as a set of cultural, political, economic measures) had on the diminishing status, if not the ultimate extinction, of Christians and Jews in Islamic lands; Flamini 2013 discusses the tragedy of some Christian communities in the region and their forced exodus; Cragg 1992 argues that Arab Christians did not vanish when Islam dominated the region but rather struggled, labored, and ultimately survived.
Cragg, Kenneth. The Arab Christian: A History in the Middle East. London: Mowbray, 1992.
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The title speaks a lot: Arabism is not solely associated with Islam—there indeed exists a community, a culture, and a faith of Arab Christianity. Arab Christians did not vanish when Islam dominated the region but rather struggled, labored, and ultimately survived. As the author put it, “The story of that labor and survival is the subject of this book.”
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Flamini, Roland. “Forced Exodus: Christians in the Middle East.” World Affairs 176.4 (2013): 65–71.
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The article discusses the tragedy of some Christian communities in the region and their forced exodus, a topic of particular significance given the declining number of Christians in the region for a variety of social, political, and economic reasons.
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Fletcher, Richard A. The Cross and the Crescent: Christianity and Islam from Muhammad to the Reformation. London: Penguin, 2004.
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A short and informative history of the relations, connections, and differences between Muslims and Christians in the Middle Ages.
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Sahner, Christian C. Christian Martyrs under Islam: Religious Violence and the Making of the Muslim World. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2019.
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An important book tackling one of the most significant questions that haunted scholars for a long time: how did the medieval Middle East change from a Christian-majority region into a Muslim-majority world? The author argues that Christians did not really experience massive persecution under the early caliphs but many episodic bouts of violence definitely played a role in the transformation and in forming Christian identity in the new Islamic state.
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Ye’or, Bat. The Decline of Eastern Christianity under Islam: From Jihad to Dhimmitude. Translated from French by Miriam Kochan and David Littman. London: Associated University Press, 1996.
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Bat Ye’or argues that Muslims’ world is divided into two regions: the “domain of Islam,” and the “domain of war.” More or less, the argument of the book could be distilled to the negative impact the twin institutions of jihad (conceived mostly as war) and dhimmitude (conceived as a set of cultural, political, economic measures) had on the diminishing status, if not the ultimate extinction, of Christians and Jews.
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Zeidan, David. “The Copts—Equal, Protected or Persecuted? The Impact of Islamization on Muslim–Christian Relations in Modern Egypt.” Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations 10.1 (1999): 53–67.
DOI: 10.1080/09596419908721170Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
An insightful analysis of Coptic-Muslims relations in Egypt arguing that the root causes of the tensions lie in the lack of a clear definition of Egyptian national identity and Egyptian political community. A useful source not only on Muslim-Christian relations but also on the evolution and crisis of the Egyptian national identity.
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Sunni-Shiʿite Relations
The Sunni-Shiʿite relationship has considerably worsened in the last three decades, particularly after the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the Sunni reaction that culminated in the brutal Iran-Iraq war. Of course, the relationship hasn’t always been that hostile; indeed, coexistence has characterized the relationship between the two communities far more than conflict. Nonetheless, the Sunni-Shiʿite divide nowadays stands as a major, if not the major, fault line that animates and shapes conflicts in the region pitting “Shiʿite” Iran and its allies, mostly a variety of Shiʿite social movements and Shiʿite militias, against a vast Sunni coalition led by Saudi Arabia. The Arab Spring, which started as a secular movement aiming at democratization and liberalization, unleashed dark forces that only exacerbated the Sunni-Shiʿite divide and its twin the Saudi-Iranian rivalry. Iran has pursued a policy of mobilizing various Shiʿite communities in the Arab world; however, these communities couldn’t have been easily mobilized had it not been for their persecution at the hands of the Sunni regimes, particularly in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. The Shiʿi are a minority among Muslims numbering only around 10–15 percent and are a majority or a plurality in only a handful of countries, especially in Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, Lebanon, and Yemen. Historically speaking, the relationship was not balanced as the most famous and most powerful Islamic empires, the Ummayad, the Abbasid, and the Ottoman, were all Sunni. Nonetheless, the last three decades saw a noticeable rise in Shiʿite power. Iran emerged as a major regional player capable of mobilizing many Shiʿite communities living in various parts of the Middle East, thus giving it unprecedented power to threaten the stability of many adversaries. The American invasion of Iraq in 2003 upset the sectarian balance that long favored the Sunnis and placed the Shiʿi at the helm of political authority there. Hezbollah, the powerful Shiʿi political party and military movement, emerged as a decisive player in Lebanese politics and recently as a major player in the Syrian civil war proving itself a very capable and proficient fighting force. The Zaydis in Yemen, led by the Houthi movement, have so far successfully resisted a Saudi-led campaign to subdue them; but the Saudi campaign has also in many ways forced them to ally with Iran, thus granting Iran more influence than it could have dreamed of. The following works present an overview of the relationship between the two communities, the rise of Shiʿite power, the roots of sectarian conflicts (different explanations), and finally Sunni reactions to the Shiʿite rise.
Overview
Reese 2013 argues that sectarian conflict is a symptom of state weakness that could be easily manipulated by ruling elites; Monsutti, et al. 2007 mentions that most of the scholarship on the Shiʿi focuses on Iran and more recently on Iraq, but the Shiite community inhabits larger geographical spaces and this volume covers some of those communities explaining how the Shiʿi affirm their identity and interpret their religious beliefs to fit the present; Fuller and Francke 1999 offers a comprehensive review of the status of the Shiʿi in Arab countries and argue that oppressive policies will only drive the Shiʿi to radicalization; Hazleton 2010 wrote a lively and accessible account of the roots and evolution of the first rift in Islam following the death of the prophet; Ahmed 2012 shows that sectarian violence did not spontaneously spread from the Persian Gulf following the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979 but was deliberately manipulated by the Wahhabis through the dissemination of extremist ideologies that facilitated sectarian violence; Mabon 2016 presents a theoretically rich account of how internal identity groups within Iran and Saudi Arabia shape political dynamics between the two countries and drive their ideological/religious and geopolitical rivalry; Mishal and Goldberg 2015 provides a new take on the Shiʿite leadership in both Iran and Lebanon arguing that their political visions perceive the world as a middle ground and that they stay away from fanaticism; Wehrey, et al. 2009 surveys the various sectarian and geopolitical dimensions of the Saudi-Iranian relationship and its implications for regional security.
Ahmed, Khaled. Sectarian War: Pakistan’s Sunni-Shia Violence and Its Links to the Middle East. Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press, 2012.
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An enlightening study that illuminates the connections between seemingly unrelated events. Sectarian violence did not spontaneously spread from the Persian Gulf following the Islamic Revolution in Iran but was deliberately manipulated by the Wahhabis through the dissemination of extremist ideologies that facilitated sectarian violence. The book also explains the connections between the Shiʿite activism in Lucknow and its impact on the Shiʿite mobilization in Iraq.
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Fuller, Graham, and Rend Rahim Francke. The Arab Shiʿa: The Forgotten Muslims. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 1999.
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The first book on the Arab Shiʿite communities and an excellent source of information on their status, suffering, and aspirations. Fuller’s research is based on various primary and secondary sources including personal interviews. The authors argue that oppressive policies will only drive the Shiʿi to radicalization and to seek support from Iran and they reject the essentialist idea (prevalent at the time) that Shiʿism is predisposed to violence and radicalism.
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Hazleton, Lesley. After the Prophet: The Epic Story of the Shia-Sunni Split in Islam. New York: Doubleday, 2010.
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A lively and accessible account of the roots and evolution of the first and main rift in Islam between the Sunnis and the Shiʿi following the death of the Prophet.
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Mabon, Simon. Saudi Arabia and Iran: Power and Rivalry in the Middle East. London: I. B. Tauris, 2016.
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A complicated and theoretically driven analysis of how internal identity groups within both Iran and Saudi Arabia shape political dynamics between the two countries and drive their ideological/religious and geopolitical competition. This is a complicated account and is meant for the graduate student or academic audience.
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Mishal, Shaul, and Ori Goldberg. Understanding Shiite Leadership: The Art of the Middle Ground in Iran and Lebanon. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2015.
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A useful and new take on the Shiʿite leadership in both Iran and Lebanon demonstrating that the political vision of these leaderships views the world as a middle ground and stays away from religious fanaticism and radicalism. The authors employ versatile approaches from social theory, history, theology, and literary criticism to show that the Shiʿite leadership in those two countries is pragmatic.
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Monsutti, Alessandro, Silvia Naef, and Farian Sabahi, eds. The Other Shiites: From the Mediterranean to Central Asia. Bern, Switzerland: Peter Lang, 2007.
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An impressive collection of articles that explore various issues relevant to the Shiʿite minorities in various countries. Plenty of scholarship focuses on the Shiʿi in Iran and more recently in Iraq, but the Shiʿite community inhabits larger geographical spaces and this volume tries to cover some of those communities. Three major topics are covered: The Sunni- Shiʿite relations; the affirmation of Shiʿite identity through ritual practices; and finally the re-interpretation of Shiʿite religious beliefs to fit the present day.
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Reese, Aaron. Sectarian and Regional Conflict in the Middle East. Washington, DC: Institute for the Study of War, 2013.
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Reese presents an analysis of the sectarian conflict that tore the region apart and argues that sectarianism is a symptom of state weakness which could be easily manipulated by ruling elites. The report focuses on Iraq and Syria.
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Wehrey, Frederic, Theodore W. Karasik, Alireza Nader, Jeremy Ghez, Lydia Hansell, and Robert A. Guffey. Saudi-Iranian Relations since the Fall of Saddam: Rivalry, Cooperation, and Implications for U.S. Policy. Santa Monica, CA: Rand, 2009.
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A very informative, comprehensive, and insightful survey of the various sectarian and geopolitical dimensions of the Saudi-Iranian rivalry and its implications for regional security.
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The Roots of Sectarian Conflict
Gonzalez 2009 presents a clearly written account of the conflict between the Sunnis and the Shiʿi for the general reader; Maréchal and Zemni 2014 is a collection of essays that cover various aspects such as tensions between doctrinal rejection and recognition and Sunni- Shiʿite encounters in various Middle Eastern countries; Haddad 2011 rejects essentialist and reductionist arguments but acknowledges the relevance of sectarian affiliations, their malleability, and potential to be manipulated by elites according to context; Abdo 2016 argues that sectarian conflict is a direct outcome of religions differences and not a cover up for strategic rivalries; Wehrey 2018 dismisses essentialist and reductionist arguments and sees sectarian conflicts as outcomes of geopolitical competition, elite manipulation, regional power rivalry; Haddad 2014 argues that Sunni Arabs who identified as Arab nationalists began to see themselves as a unique sectarian group following the American invasion in 2003; Byman 2014 shows that sectarian conflicts are mostly caused by week institutions and governments; Hashemi and Postel 2017 rejects the neo-orientalist orthodoxy that explains politics in terms of essential religious and sectarian differences and argues that sectarian conflicts should be understood within their proper historical, social, and political contexts; the edited volume Potter 2014 dismisses essentialist understandings and offers nuanced interpretations of sectarian dynamics viewing them in terms of their institutional, historical, and social and political context; Finnbogason, et al. 2019 provides statistical overview of organized violence across the Shiʿi and Sunni Muslim divide between 1989 and 2017 and find that most violence is driven by states, rebel groups, and militias.
Abdo, Geneive. The New Sectarianism: The Arab Uprisings and the Rebirth of the Shi’a-Sunni Divide. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016.
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Geneive Abdo argues that by the 1970s secular nationalism had already been weakened and replaced by religious and sectarian loyalties. When the Arab Spring erupted, sectarian tensions had already been high. Indeed, sectarian conflict, Abdo argues, is a direct outcome of religious differences and not a cover up for strategic rivalries—even though sectarian loyalties could still be manipulated by governments, the media, and elites.
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Byman, Daniel. “Sectarianism Afflicts the New Middle East.” Survival 56.1 (2014): 79–100.
DOI: 10.1080/00396338.2014.882157Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
Conflicts between religious groups are very common, especially in the turbulent and deeply penetrated region of the Middle East. A common folk perception attributes such conflicts to religiosity or the nature of religious beliefs that are prone to violence. However, Byman shows that such conflicts are mostly caused by week institutions and governments.
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Finnbogason, Daniel, Göran Larsson, and Isak Svensson. “Is Shia-Sunni Violence on the Rise? Exploring New Data on Intra-Muslim Organised Violence 1989–2017.” Civil Wars 21.1 (2019): 25–53.
DOI: 10.1080/13698249.2019.1595881Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
The article provides statistical overview of organized violence across the Shiʿi and Sunni Muslim divide between 1989 and 2017 and finds that most violence is driven by states, rebel groups, and militias, and not by communities—an important finding for understanding the instrumentality of sectarianism in the region.
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Gonzalez, Nathan. The Sunni-Shia Conflict: Understanding Sectarian Violence in the Middle East. Mission Viejo, CA, Nortia Press, 2009.
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A study that aims at helping the general reader understand the roots of sectarian violence in the region. Accessible and simple.
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Haddad, Fanar. Sectarianism in Iraq: Antagonistic Visions of Unity. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011.
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Haddad managed to handle a very complicated subject in an exceptionally erudite manner. This is a book about the complex sectarian relations in Iraq and its paradoxes and complexities. The author categorically rejects essentialist and reductionist arguments that place sectarian tensions at the center of all politics in Iraq but at the same time acknowledges the relevance of sectarian affiliations, their malleability, and potential to be manipulated by elites, according to context and wider political dynamics.
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Haddad, Fanar. “A Sectarian Awakening: Reinventing Sunni Identity in Iraq After 2003.” Current Trends in Islamist Ideology 17 (2014): 70–101.
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An insightful analysis from an expert on Iraqi and Sunni- Shiʿite affairs. The author argues that the Sunni Arabs, who held power since the creation of modern Iraq until the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003, started to perceive themselves as a unique sectarian group after the American invasion. The article analyzes the question of sectarian identity among the Sunnis in Iraq before and after the transformative 2003 American invasion and the implications of the emergence and consolidation of such identities.
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Hashemi, Nader, and Danny Postel, eds. Sectarianization: Mapping the New Politics of the Middle East. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017.
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The authors of this insightful collection of essays reject what has really become a neo-orientalist orthodoxy that explains politics in terms of essential religious and sectarian differences and instead argue that sectarian conflicts should be understood within their proper historical, social and political contexts. Sectarian loyalties are not primordial but rather instruments that the cynical power elites manipulate for their own political ends.
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Maréchal, Brigitte, and Sami Zemni, eds. The Dynamics of Sunni-Shia Relationships: Doctrine, Transnationalism, Intellectuals and the Media. London: Hurst, 2014.
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An outstanding collection of essays written by the foremost experts in the field of Sunni- Shiʿite relations that covers a wide variety of topics including a comprehensive introduction and overview, tensions between doctrinal rejection and recognition, and Sunni- Shiʿite encounters in various Middle Eastern countries such as Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan. A reference that must be on the desk of any serious scholar interested in understanding the complicated Sunni-Shiʿite relations.
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Potter, Lawrence G., ed. Sectarian Politics in the Persian Gulf. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.
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An edited volume covering sectarian dynamics in the Gulf region written by foremost experts in their fields offering nuanced and subtle interpretations of sectarian dynamics dismissing simplistic and essentialist understandings and viewing sectarianism in its institutional, historical, and social and political context.
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Wehrey, Frederic, ed. Beyond Sunni and Shia: The Roots of Sectarianism in a Changing Middle East. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018.
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The authors of this collection of expert essays dismiss essentialist and reductionist arguments that seek to explain the recent political conflicts in the region in sectarian terms. Instead, the volume advances a more nuanced argument that explains sectarian conflicts as outcomes of geopolitical competition, elite manipulation, and regional power rivalry. The volume presents plenty of evidence derived from cases studies of Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf, Iran, and Egypt.
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The Shiʿite Revival
Nasr 2006 explains how the American invasion of Iraq changed the sectarian balance, helped the Shiʿi rise to power, and made the Shiʿite crescent that extends from Lebanon and Syria through Iraq and Iran to Pakistan more feasible; Norton 2007 rejects the deterministic readings that see sectarian conflicts as inevitable after the changing sectarian balance following the removal of Saddam Hussein; Elhadj 2014 reviews the Shiʿite crescent, the threat it posed to Sunnis in the region, and analyzes how Saudi Arabia led the fight against this alleged threat; Barzegar 2008 rejects the simplistic explanation of an Iranian scheme to dominate the Arab world through the so-called Shiʿite crescent; Cole 2006 argues that American foreign policy in the region helped revitalize Iran’s geopolitical ambitions and enhanced its influence in the region; Bröning 2008 questions the idea of a Shiʿite crescent and the centrality of a Sunni-Shiʿite conflict in the region and argues that the Shiʿite crescent is not as united as is claimed; Haji-Yousefi 2009 takes a deeper look at who benefits and who loses from the alleged Shiite crescent revealing some serious contradictions and complexities; Çakmak 2015 argues that the Arab Spring offered Iran an opportunity to expand its influence across the region.
Barzegar, Kayhan. “Iran and the Shiite Crescent: Myths and Realities.” Brown Journal of World Affairs 15.1 (2008): 87–99.
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In 2004, the Jordanian king warned of what he called the Shiʿite crescent extending from Beirut to the Gulf region. Many observers agreed with this contention, seeing Iran as a rising hegemonic power trying to expand its ideological and political influence in the region by building proxy forces among the Shiʿite citizens of Arab states. The author rejects the traditional explanations and argues instead that “this rivalry is a pure inter-Arab world power-sharing conflict rather than an ideological Iranian-Arab rivalry.”
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Bröning, Michael. “Don’t Fear the Shiites: The Idea of a Teheran-Controlled ‘Shiite Crescent’ over the Greater Middle East Is at Odds with Reality.” International Politics and Society 3 (2008): 60–75.
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The author argues that the Shiʿite threat is exaggerated and that confessional loyalties play a minor role in the Saudi-Iranian conflict and that the so-called Shiʿite crescent is not as unified as is claimed.
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Çakmak, Cenap. “The Arab Spring and the Shiite Crescent: Does Ongoing Change Serve Iranian Interests?” The Review of Faith & International Affairs 13. 2 (2015): 52–63.
DOI: 10.1080/15570274.2015.1039299Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
The author presents a background to the concept of the Shiʿite crescent and argues that the Arab Spring presented an opportunity for Iran to fulfill some of its strategic goals.
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Cole, Juan. “A “Shiite Crescent”? The Regional Impact of the Iraq War.” Current History 105.687 (2006): 20–26.
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Cole argues that US policies in the Middle East have helped revitalize Iran’s geopolitical ambitions and enhance Iran’s influence in the region.
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Elhadj, Elie. “The Shiʿi Crescent’s Push for Regional Hegemony and the Sunni Reaction.” Middle East Review of International Affairs 18.1 (2014): 38–54.
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A review of the so-called Shiʿite crescent and the threat this posed to Sunni states and how Saudi Arabia led a Sunni crusade against this perceived threat and its potential hegemony over the Middle East.
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Haji-Yousefi, Amir M. “Whose Agenda Is Served by the Idea of a Shia Crescent?” Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations 8.1 (2009): 114–135.
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Intuitively, the Shiʿite crescent should benefit Iran’s hegemonic aspirations but a deeper look reveals that the crescent is fraught with contradictions and paradoxes, benefits and harms for all actors.
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Nasr, Vali. The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam Will Shape the Future. New York: W. W. Norton, 2006.
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An excellent book on the sources of the conflict between the Sunnis and the Shiʿi and one of the earliest analyses to explicate the implications of the removal of Saddam Hussein from power, the rise of the Shiʿi in Iraq, and the possibilities of expanding Shiʿite power in the region. Nasr argues that the Shiʿite crescent that extends from Lebanon and Syria through Iraq and Iran to Pakistan is taking shape, especially after the fall of Saddam Hussein.
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Norton, Augustus. “The Shiite ‘Threat’ Revisited.” Current History 106 (2007): 434–439.
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Norton rejects essentialist and deterministic readings that see sectarian conflicts as inevitable outcomes of the changing sectarian balance that followed the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in Iraq.
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Sunni Reactions to the Shiʿite Revival
Guzansky and Lindenstrauss 2013 argues that a Sunni alliance/axis is emerging to counterbalance the emerging Shiʿite one; Mansour 2016 attributes the long and unexpected survival of ISIS to the attitudes of Sunnis who felt alienated by the perceived sectarianism of the Iraqi government; Di Peri 2014 tests the thesis of sectarianism as an organizing principle of politics in the region in a most likely case in Lebanon where sectarianism is enshrined in daily politics and finds that this framework exaggerates the extent of animosity between the two sects who actually pursued accommodating policies and tried to avoid exacerbating sectarian conflicts; Matthiesen 2013 shows how Sunni states in the Gulf reacted violently to the Shiʿite demands for civil and political rights and used sectarian incitements; Al-Rasheed 2011 explores how Saudi Arabia reacted to the demands of its Shiʿite minority by employing a combination of coercion and sectarian incitement and depicting the Shiʿi as a fifth column serving Persian and anti-Sunni conspiracies; Saleh and Kraetzschmar 2015 analyzes the Salafists’ reactions to the tiny Shiʿite minority in Egypt and its demands and argue that the Salafists “securitized” Shiʿism in Egypt as evidenced by their politico-religious rhetoric.
Al-Rasheed, Madawi. “Sectarianism as Counter‐Revolution: Saudi Responses to the Arab Spring.” Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism 11.3 (2011): 513–526.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1754-9469.2011.01129.xSave Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
Despite its vast oil resources, Saudi Arabia couldn’t escape the repercussions of the Arab Spring. Its Shiʿite minority rebelled but the regime was quick and ruthless in its reaction as it employed a combination of coercion and sectarianization as a pre-emptive counter-revolutionary strategy.
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Di Peri, Rosita. “Re-defining the Balance of Power in Lebanon: Sunni and Shiites Communities Transformations, the Regional Context and the Arab Uprisings.” Oriente Moderno 94 (2014): 335–356.
DOI: 10.1163/22138617-12340064Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
The Sunni-Shiʿite sectarian dynamics presented a simple framework for understanding the relationship between the two communities, assuming that conflicts and tensions are the norm. The article tests this thesis in Lebanon, where sectarianism is standard, and finds that this framework exaggerates the extent of animosity between the two sects who pursued accommodating policies and tried to avoid exacerbating sectarian conflicts.
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Guzansky, Yoel, and Gallia Lindenstrauss. “The Emergence of the Sunni Axis in the Middle East.” Strategic Assessment 16.1 (2013): 37–48.
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The authors show that a Sunni alliance/axis is emerging to counterbalance the emerging Shiʿite one.
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Mansour, Renad. The Sunni Predicament in Iraq. Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2016.
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A report that explains why ISIS has survived in Iraq more than most analysts expected by attributing this survival to the attitudes of Sunnis who felt alienated by the perceived sectarianism of the Iraqi government. This is a daring argument and contrary to popular and journalistic perceptions that depict ISIS as a small and marginal terrorist organization lacking in popular support.
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Matthiesen, Tobby. Sectarian Gulf: Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the Arab Spring That Wasn’t. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2013.
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An excellent and insightful account of the Sunni-Shiʿite relations in the Gulf countries. Common wisdom holds that the oil-rich countries would avoid the Arab Spring eruptions because of their oil resources and monarchical stability. However, the Shiʿite populations in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain rebelled but were violently suppressed. In both cases, the state awakened sectarian hatred to deter the Shiʿite population from mobilizing against the ruling regimes and strove to depict the Shiʿite mobilization as an Iranian threat.
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Saleh, A., and H. J. Kraetzschmar. “Politicized Identities, Securitized Politics: The Sunni-Shi’a Politics in Egypt.” The Middle East Journal 69.4 (2015): 545–562.
DOI: 10.3751/69.4.13Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
A very insightful analysis of the reaction of Sunni Salafists to Shiʿite mobilization in the Arab Spring. The authors examine how Egypt’s Salafis “securitized” Shiʿism in Egypt in their politico-religious rhetoric to realize their own political objectives.
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- Economic Coercion and Sanctions
- Economics, International
- Embedded Liberalism
- Emerging Powers and BRICS
- Emotions
- Empirical Testing of Formal Models
- Energy and International Security
- Environmental Peacebuilding
- Epidemic Diseases and their Effects on History
- Ethics and Morality in International Relations
- Ethnicity in International Relations
- European Migration Policy
- European Security and Defense Policy, The
- European Union as an International Actor
- European Union, International Relations of the
- Experiments
- Face-to-Face Diplomacy
- Fascism, The Challenge of
- Feminist Methodologies in International Relations
- Feminist Security Studies
- Food Security
- Forecasting in International Relations
- Foreign Aid and Assistance
- Foreign Direct Investment
- Foreign Policy Decision-Making
- Foreign Policy of Non-democratic Regimes
- Foreign Policy of Saudi Arabia
- Foreign Policy, Theories of
- French Empire, 20th-Century
- From Club to Network Diplomacy
- Future of NATO
- Game Theory and Interstate Conflict
- Gender and Terrorism
- Genocide
- Genocide, Politicide, and Mass Atrocities Against Civilian...
- Genocides, 20th Century
- Geopolitics and Geostrategy
- Germany in World War II
- Global Citizenship
- Global Civil Society
- Global Constitutionalism
- Global Environmental Politics
- Global Ethic of Care
- Global Governance
- Global Justice, Western Perspectives
- Globalization
- Governance of the Arctic
- Grand Strategy
- Greater Middle East, The
- Greek Crisis
- Hague Conferences (1899, 1907)
- Hegemony
- Hezbollah
- Hierarchies in International Relations
- History and International Relations
- Human Nature in International Relations
- Human Rights
- Human Rights and Humanitarian Diplomacy
- Human Rights, Feminism and
- Human Rights Law
- Human Security
- Hybrid Warfare
- Ideal Diplomat, The
- Idealism
- Identity and Foreign Policy
- Ideology, Values, and Foreign Policy
- Illicit Trade and Smuggling
- Imperialism
- Indian Foreign Policy
- Indian Perspectives on International Relations, War, and C...
- Indigenous Rights
- Industrialization
- Intelligence
- Intelligence Oversight
- Internal Displacement
- International Conflict Settlements, The Durability of
- International Criminal Court, The
- International Economic Organizations (IMF and World Bank)
- International Health Governance
- International Justice, Theories of
- International Law
- International Monetary Relations, History of
- International Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
- International Nongovernmental Organizations
- International Norms for Cultural Preservation and Cooperat...
- International Organizations
- International Relations, Aesthetic Turn in
- International Relations as a Social Science
- International Relations, Practice Turn in
- International Relations, Research Ethics in
- International Relations Theory
- International Security
- International Society
- International Society, Theorizing
- International Support For Nonstate Armed Groups
- Internet Law
- Interstate Cooperation Theory and International Institutio...
- Intervention and Use of Force
- Interviews and Focus Groups
- Iran, Politics and Foreign Policy
- Iraq: Past and Present
- Japanese Foreign Policy
- Just War Theory
- Korean War
- Kurdistan and Kurdish Politics
- Law of the Sea
- Laws of War
- Leadership in International Affairs
- Leadership Personality Characteristics and Foreign Policy
- League of Nations
- Lean Forward and Pull Back Options for US Grand Strategy
- Liberalism
- Marxism
- Mediation and Civil Wars
- Mediation in International Conflicts
- Mediation via International Organizations
- Memory and World Politics
- Mercantilism
- Middle East, The Contemporary
- Middle East, The Contemporary
- Middle Powers and Regional Powers
- Military Science
- Minorities in the Middle East
- Minority Rights
- Morality in Foreign Policy
- Multilateralism (1992–), Return to
- National Liberation, International Law and Wars of
- National Security Act of 1947, The
- Nation-Building
- Nations and Nationalism
- NATO
- NATO, Europe, and Russia: Security Issues and the Border R...
- Natural Resources, Energy Politics, and Environmental Cons...
- Neorealism
- New Multilateralism in the Early 21st Century
- Nigeria
- Nonproliferation and Counterproliferation
- Nonviolent Resistance Datasets
- Normative Aspects of International Peacekeeping
- Normative Power Beyond the Eurocentric Frame
- Nuclear Proliferation
- Peace Education in Post-Conflict Zones
- Peace of Utrecht
- Peacebuilding, Post-Conflict
- Peacekeeping
- Piracy
- Political Demography
- Political Economy of National Security
- Political Extremism in Sub-Saharan Africa
- Political Learning and Socialization
- Political Psychology
- Politics and Islam in Turkey
- Politics and Nationalism in Cyprus
- Politics of Extraction: Theories and New Concepts for Crit...
- Politics of Resilience
- Popuism and Global Politics
- Popular Culture and International Relations
- Post-Civil War State
- Post-Conflict and Transitional Justice
- Post-Conflict Reconciliation in the Middle East and North ...
- Power Transition Theory
- Preventive War and Preemption
- Prisoners, Treatment of
- Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs)
- Process Tracing Methods
- Pro-Government Militias
- Proliferation
- Prospect Theory in International Relations
- Psychoanalysis in Global Politics and International Relati...
- Psychology and Foreign Policy
- Public Opinion and Foreign Policy
- Public Opinion and the European Union
- Quantum Social Science
- Race and International Relations
- Realism
- Rebel Governance
- Reconciliation
- Reflexivity and International Relations
- Religion and International Relations
- Religiously Motivated Violence
- Reputation in International Relations
- Responsibility to Protect
- Rising Powers in World Politics
- Role Theory in International Relations
- Russian Foreign Policy
- Russian Revolutions and Civil War, 1917–1921
- Sanctions
- Sanctions in International Law
- Science Diplomacy
- Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), The
- Secrecy and Diplomacy
- Securitization
- Self-Determination
- Shining Path
- Sinophone and Japanese International Relations Theory
- Social Scientific Theories of Imperialism
- Sovereignty
- Soviet Union in World War II
- Space Strategy, Policy, and Power
- Spatial Dependencies and International Mediation
- State Theory in International Relations
- Statehood
- Status in International Relations
- Strategic Air Power
- Strategic and Net Assessments
- Sub-Saharan Africa, Conflict Formations in
- Sustainable Development
- Systems Theory
- Teaching International Relations
- Territorial Disputes
- Terrorism
- Terrorism and Poverty
- Terrorism, Geography of
- Terrorist Financing
- Terrorist Group Strategies
- The Changing Nature of Diplomacy
- The Politics and Diplomacy of Neutrality
- The Politics and Diplomacy of the First World War
- The Queer in/of International Relations
- the Twenty-First Century, Alliance Commitments in
- The Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic and Consular Relation...
- Theories of International Relations, Feminist
- Theory, Chinese International Relations
- Time Series Approaches to International Affairs
- Trade Law
- Transnational Actors
- Transnational Law
- Transnational Social Movements
- Trust and International Relations
- Turkey
- UN Security Council
- United Nations, The
- United States and Asia, The
- Uppsala Conflict Data Program
- US and Africa
- US–UK Special Relationship
- Voluntary International Migration
- War
- War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714)
- Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Western Balkans
- Western Front (World War I)
- Westphalia, Peace of (1648)
- Women and Peacemaking Peacekeeping
- World Economy 1919-1939
- World Polity School
- World War II Diplomacy and Political Relations
- World-System Theory
