Militancy and Political Violence in Shiism - Trends and Patterns

摘要

If the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979 has provided a boost for Iranian Studies as well as an impetus within the Study of Islam which increasingly acknowledges the relevance of research in contemporary issues; the recent war in Iraq and related religio-political developments in the Muslim world appears to have caused a flood of publications on contemporary aspects of Shiism. Many in this fast turnover of new titles however, seem to have been motivated more by the prospect of massive sales rather than by sustained academic value, which in turn, causes some prejudiced suspicion of any new publication in this field. The responsibility of authors and/or editors would therefore be to ensure a depth of analysis and presentation that can make their own publications stand out of the broad mass of rather mediocre.