Shi'a Minorities in the Contemporary World

Abstract

Global migration flows in the 20th century have seen the emergence of Muslim diaspora and minority communities in Europe, North America and other parts of the world. While there is a growing body of research on Muslim minorities in various regional contexts, the particular experiences of Shi’a Muslim minorities across the globe has only received scant attention. This book offers new comparative perspectives of Shi’a minorities outside of the so-called “Muslim heartland” (Middle East, North Africa, Central and South Asia). It includes contributions on Shi’a minority communities in Europe, North and South America, Sub-Saharan Africa and East Asia that emerged out of migration from the Middle East and South Asia in the 20th and 21st centuries in particular. As ‘a minority within a minority’, Shi’a Muslims face the double-challenge of maintaining an Islamic as well as a particular Shi’a identity in terms of communal activities and practices, public perception and recognition. The book provides comparative insights into Shi’a Muslim communities across the globe, set in Muslim minority contexts and makes an important contribution to understanding the global dynamics of contemporary Shi’a Islam. Illustrating how transnational Shi’a networks operate in Muslim minority contexts, it discusses the impact of events in the Middle East on Shi’a Muslim minorities across the world.