On the Shia Revival

This is a popular work on what Vali Nasr calls the “Shia Revival,” and it must be understood that this is, more or less, an introduction to the topic. Nasr works in broad strokes, but essentially argues that—since the Iranian Revolution—Shia communities have been empowered and are taking more control of their own destiny. He spends a great deal of time examining Iraq (the first Shia Arab country to undergo this revival) and Iran (its point of origin).

Ultimately, he argues that a great deal of the Sunni extremism we see today (ISIS, for example) is a result of fears of loss of Sunni dominance, so groups have formed to maintain it by force. This is certainly true, but Nasr fails to connect the rise of extremist groups to other regional trends. For example, it is only the in the Afterward that Nasr analyses MENA history after 2005, given this book’s original publication in 2005. Yet, movements like the Arab Spring appear to be a simple footnote, notable only for their backlash of (or support to) Shia governance. Admittedly, that book is focused specifically on Shiism in the modern Middle East and Central Asia, but connecting these trends to larger pictures would have been welcome.

It must be mentioned that Nasr is unapologetically pro-Shia. He makes some good arguments about the necessity of the Shia revival, but he also tends to paint Shia leaders in far more favorable light than Sunni leaders. This is not an issue for most cases, but Nasr’s analysis overall seems unbalanced.

Nevertheless, this is a good intro to the subject, but far more reading is necessary to work out the details.