To most western eyes, all Islamic movements look alike, and the central conflict in the Middle East is one between religion and secularism. Shockingly little has been written about the bitter divide between Shia and Sunni. Yet without understanding their ancient conflict, and its modern embodiment in the power struggle between Iran and Saudi Arabia for political and spiritual leadership of the Muslim world, it is impossible to comprehend events across the so-called Shia Crescent, from East Africa through Iraq and Pakistan to India.
       In The Shia Revival Vali Nasr explains the provocative rise of the Ayatollah Khomeini, the Saudi pressure on the United States not to unseat Saddam Hussein in 1991, the critical role of the Ayatollah Sistani and the religious establishment in Najaf, the volatility of Pakistan today, and the consequences of the shift toward Shia power through American intervention.

"I'm reading a book by Vali Nasr, The Shia Revival. He says the biggest legacy of Iraq is not extra terrorism but the ignition of the Shia-Sunni divide."
Martin Amis, The Independent on Sunday

"The value of Mr Nasr's account lies in the context he gives to today's headlines."
The Economist

"Historically incisive, geographically broad-reaching, and brimming with illuminating anecdotes."
New York Review of Books

"Provocative."
The New York Times

"concise and coherent"
The Wall Street Journal

"smart, clear and timely"
Washington Post

May 2007 • Paper • £10.99 • ISBN 978 0 393 32968 1 • 240pp • 140 x 210mm