Edinburgh University Press Contemporary Reformist Responses to Traditional Shi'a Discourses

Based on Persian and Arabic primary sources such as seminal jurisprudential works, fatwas, articles and interviews, this book explores how contemporary Shiʿism has broken away from traditional religious discourses. Ali Akbar examines how prominent scholars from Iran, Iraq and Lebanon who operate from within Shiʿa tradition have paved the way for new interpretations of Islam in general and of Shiʿism in particular. The book investigates the extent to which reformist Shiʿa scholarship has shifted towards post-Islamist discourses in response to four key areas encompassing theological, social and political issues: relationships between Muslims and people of other faiths, with an emphasis on the concept of ritual purity; freedom of religion; women’s rights; and state-religion relationship and democratic norms. Akbar offers an up-to-date and interdisciplinary examination of contemporary Shiʿa scholars’ use of tools and strategies to instigate reform.