The complex history of Lebanese Shi‘ites has traditionally been portrayed as rooted in religious and sectarian forces. The Abisaabs uncover a more nuanced account in which colonialism, the modern state, social class, and provincial politics profoundly shaped Shi‘i society.
The authors trace the sociopolitical, economic, and intellectual transformation of the Shi‘ites of Lebanon from 1920 during the French colonial period until the late twentieth century. They shed light on the relationship of contemporary Islamic militancy with traditions of religious modernism and leftism in both Lebanon and Iraq. Analyzing the interaction between sacred and secular features of modern Shi‘ite society, the authors clearly follow the group’s turn toward religious revolution and away from secular activism. This book transforms our understanding of twentieth-century Lebanese history and demonstrates how the rise of Hizbullah was conditioned by Shi‘ites’ consistent marginalization and neglect by the Lebanese state.

Rula Jurdi Abisaab's profile page

Malek Abisaab is Associate Professor at McGill University in the departments of History and Classical Studies and the Institute of Islamic Studies. A historian, his work focuses on gender, labor, Islamism, and the nation-state in the Middle East. His books include, Militant Women of a Fragile Nation (Syracuse UP, 2010) and (with Rula Jurdi Abisaab) The Shiites of Lebanon: Modernism, Communism, and Hizbullah’s Islamists (Syracuse UP, 2017).

Malek Abisaab's profile page

• Winner, CHOICE Outstanding Title

This book is an important retelling of the modern history of Lebanon’s Shi‘ites. It presents new research with thoughtful interpretation, informed by numerous comparative and theoretical references.

professor of history, University of Virginia

A panoramic look at Lebanese Shi?ite social and intellectual history over the past century, with particular emphasis on religious modernists, communists, and Islamists. This study is a solid contribution to an ever-expanding field of Lebanese Shi?ite studies.

American Historical Review

An excellent political history of a population of growing contemporary importance....The authors beautifully explore the subtleties of religious and political doctrine and their adoption by sometimes-charismatic leadership.

Choice

An original work and its strength is the combination of expertise both authors offer: a profound knowledge of Shiite legal tradition, history of theology, history of modern Shiism in Iraq, Iran, and Lebanon, and a serious engagement with theories of secularism and piety, as well as theoretical discussions on civil society and public space.

research fellow, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity, Göttingen

The Shi'ites of Lebanon represents a highly significant, and long overdue, analysis of the relationship between communism and the Shi'a.

Journal of Shi'a Islamic Studies