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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Book Review : an Introduction To Shia Islam: the History and Doctrines of Twelver Shiism, By Moojan Momen Book Review: An Introduction to Shia Islam, The History and Doctrines of Twelver Shi'ism Introduction The book is an attempt to present a general outline of the doctrines, practices and history of the Imami Shias, or, according to the title, of `Shia Islam'.

The author recurringly uses the terms `Shia Islam' and `Sunni Islam', while admitting that the Shi'ah and Sunnis “are much closer to each other than many Christian sects are”. Then why, one wonders, we do not find Western writers talk so frequently about, say, `Catholic Christianity' and `Protestant Christianity'.

The answer is that putting into circulation such terms as `Shia Islam' and `Sunni Islam' serves divisive goals and Western political interests; it is natural that in the West, where strategic priority and academic curiosity are so closely interlinked, scholars should rally to provide intellectual ammunition to safeguard the security of imperialist interests.

The book itself is intended to fill a vacuum and to attend to a field hitherto ignored by orientalist due to the formerly low strategic significance of the subject. The paucity of works by Western scholars on Shia subjects is usually attributed to neglect or their past tendency to underestimate their importance. But, possibly, it is the revolutionary potential of those teachings which has forced Western scholars to suppress their dissemination through apparent neglect.

Now the main problem before the Orientals is to satisfy the curiosity of the Western audience without becoming propagandists of Shiaism. His solution lies in partial coverage. That is, through suppressing the most positive aspects of its teachings and providing only skeletal details devoid of soul and spirit.

This kind of suppressive treatment has been dealt out in the present book to the Shia and Islamic doctrine and ideal of justice, for justice, in its most comprehensive sense, along with Tawhid, is central to the teachings of the Quran, the mission of the Prophet (S), the function of the Imams, and the ideals of the Shia creed.1 The author's ambitious introduction to Shiaism begins with “An Outline of the Life of Muhammad (S) and the Early History of Islam”. The chapters which follow are: 1 .

Life of Prophet (S) . 2 . The Question of the Succession to Muhammad (S). 3.