Sunni-Shi'i relations have undergone significant transformations in recent decades. The 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran had a major spill-over effect on the entire Middle East, and the 2003 war in Iraq transformed the Shi'is into the dominant force in Iraq. The emergence of Iran as a regional power following Saddam Husayn's removal, along with the weakness of the Arab state system, raised the specter of the "Shi'i Crescent" threatening Sunni-Arab domination in the region. The present volume demonstrates the complexity of Sunni-Shi'i relations by analyzing political, ideological, and social encounters between the two communities from early Islamic history to the present. While analyzing specific case studies in various Middle Eastern regions, the book provides a panoramic picture ranging from hostility to efforts of cooperation and ecumenism.

In Know Thy Enemy, Meir Litvak analyzes the re-articulations of the "Others" in modern Shi'ism, as a novel way to examine the formulation of modern Shi'i identity and place in the world. Among these others, which have transformed into "enemies" in the modern period are the West, apostates, Wahhabism, Jews, Baha'is and feminism. Looking at the rhetorical themes that Shi'i writers use, the book demonstrates the contrast between the collective positive "We" and the negative threatening "Other" as a major principle in the evolution of Shi'ism as the minority branch of Islam. It offers a complex view of Shi'i identity combining a sense of victimhood and insecurity together with conviction of intellectual and moral superiority and long-term triumph.

Nationalism has played an important role in the cultural and intellectual discourse of modernity that emerged in Iran from the late nineteenth century to the present, promoting new formulations of collective identity and advocating a new and more active role for the broad strata of the public in politics. The essays in this volume seek to shed light on the construction of nationalism in Iran in its many manifestations; cultural, social, political and ideological, by exploring on-going debates on this important and progressive topic.

Nationalism has played an important role in the cultural and intellectual discourse of modernity that emerged in Iran from the late nineteenth century to the present, promoting new formulations of collective identity and advocating a new and more active role for the broad strata of the public in politics. The essays in this volume seek to shed light on the construction of nationalism in Iran in its many manifestations; cultural, social, political and ideological, by exploring on-going debates on this important and progressive topic.

The shrine cities of Najaf and Karbala in nineteenth-century Ottoman Iraq were the most important Shi'i centers of learning. In the first in-depth study of the period, Meir Litvak explores the social and political dynamics of these communities and the historical development of Shi'i leadership. In this context, the book not only contributes to the historical debates, but also more broadly to an understanding of modern Shi'ism. It will appeal to historians of the Middle East, Islam, and to students of comparative religion.

For many Middle Eastern Muslims the "West" came to personify the ultimate "other," occupying a space that was simultaneously appealing, intimidating, and often abhorrent. The multilayered, ambivalent interaction between Middle Eastern societies and the West has been a major theme in the history of this region for the past two centuries. The al-Qa eda terrorist attack against the United States on September 11, 2001, the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, and Israel's war against Hizbullah in the summer of 2006 have made the in-depth study of this interaction more critically important than ever. Taking the concepts of the Middle East and the West into account as useful analytical categories, the various articles in this volume examine and analyze a broad spectrum of Middle Eastern encounters and attitudes toward the West. This collection provides a fuller understanding of the complexities involved in both the historical and contemporary relationship between Middle Eastern societies and the West.

Sunni-Shi'i relations have undergone significant transformations in recent decades. In order to understand these developments, the contributors to the present volume demonstrate the complexity of Sunni-Shi'i relations by analyzing political, ideological, and social encounters between the two communities from early Islamic history to the present.

The shrine cities of Najaf and Karbala in nineteenth-century Ottoman Iraq were the most important Shi'i centers of learning. In the first in-depth study of the period, Meir Litvak explores the social and political dynamics of these communities and the historical development of Shi'i leadership. In this context, the book not only contributes to the historical debates, but also more broadly to an understanding of modern Shi'ism. It will appeal to historians of the Middle East, Islam, and to students of comparative religion.