Friday
Jun222007
Persian Ghosts
By 
Issandr El Amrani | Iran Religion US
Issandr El Amrani | Iran Religion US
Persian Ghosts: Chris Toensing reviews books about the "Shia revival" and finds some wishful thinking.
Reader Comments (2)
Please explain the comment about "wishful thinking."
Toensing's review points out that both Nasr and to a lesser extent Naqash see a "Shia revival" as a positive thing that will undo centuries of Sunni domination of the region and repression of Shias. Nasr in particular sees in this an opportunity for the US to "switch sides" and back the emerging Shia powers against the declining Sunni ones. But it's dubious that the situation is as clear-cut as that, or that we are really looking at such a huge transformation, or even whether it is desirable.