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In this vividly descriptive work, Nicholas Pelham eavesdrops on mullahs and militants, on Presidents and peasants to paint a masterful portait of the passions and politics behind the Middle East sectarian crisis.
Using completely new sources, he offers an inside track on the story of how the Shia took power in Iraq following the American overthrow of Saddam Hussein. Drawing on his deep personal knowledge of Iraq’s people and history, he explains the cultural and social implications of its shift to becoming a Shia-led state. Talking to shadow sources at the heart of the Shia religious establishment, Pelham shows how the centre of Shia power moved after the invasion of Iraq from Qom in Iran to Najaf in Iraq, and with it from a more spiritual to a more politically active from of Shi’ism. He shows how Sunni reactions to this shift have been exploited by political leaders across the region anxious to contain Iran, creating a dangerously polarised environment in which all manner of personal, political and financial interests are fuelling the fiery opposition between Sunni and Shia.
Pelham, a journalist of many years standing in the region, takes the reader on an unforgettable journey through study sessions, in Iraq’s Shia seminaries, a camel ride in the Jordanian desert and a riot in Gaza City, to show the unravelling of the old Middle East order as it happens, and to make Western readers understand the force with which this unreavelling is being felt in the region, where suddenly a new frontline is opening in every town, city and village.
ISBN - 9781845111397
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Pages : 288
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