Shi’a Islam and Politics in the Middle East

From the rise of the Axis of Resistance and US-Iran rivalry in the region, to the war in Yemen between the Shi'a Ansarallah (Houthis) and Saudi Arabia and the battle over the future of Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, the rise of Shi'a political actors has been one of the most significant developments in the recent history of the Middle East. While Shi'a Islam is a minority sect within the larger Islamic World, Shi'a Muslims are estimated to comprise some 35-40 percent of the population of the Middle East. The rise of Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in Iraq, and the world's only theocracy in Iran all represent major changes in the politics, society, and trajectory of the region linked to Shi'a Islamic revival and mass movements that include both political parties and armed wings. This course addresses the role of Shi'a Islam in the contemporary Middle East especially after the 1979 Islamic Revolution of Iran through to the 2003 Iraq War, the Iran-Saudi rivalry, fluctuation of sectarian identities, civil conflict, proliferation of non-state actors and Shi'a militias, and the current geopolitical competition over the security architecture of the Middle East. The course further focuses on the foundations and varieties of modern Shi'a political thought and theology; the history of religious clerical institutions (the system of Grand Ayatollahs); Shi'a political parties and paramilitaries in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen; and Iran's Islamic Revolution, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), and the Basij paramilitary organization.