Yitzhak Nakash, The Shi’is of Iraq (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2003) Price for paperback 13.00, ISBN: 0-691-11575-3.
Iraq is a country that most of the world has come to know due to an extreme chain of events. However, people mostly talk about those incidents instead of the countries back history and the events that took place within the country itself. There is more to Iraq than what is talked about, the book The Shi’is of Iraq examines the majority group of this country and its turbulent relations with the ruling Sunni minority. The author Yitzhak Nakash states in the preface, “I was intrigued by the role of culture and society in shaping different patterns of religious and political development among Shi’is. This
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Also, I would consider moving the third part of the book towards the front in future editions. Another shortcoming is that the introduction and epilogue of the book did not come across as strong while the remaining chapters of the book where quite the opposite. These two sections just did not fit with the time frame of the rest of the book but instead they focused on the time period before hand. The introduction was used to connect this edition to the previous one; it had little to do with the central idea of the book, Iraqi Shi’is. Nakash did address September 11, 2001 in the introduction, which I believe needed to be addressed, however I do not think that he went into enough detail on the effect this event had on Iraq. The earlier edition was very similar to this edition with the central body being the same. The only difference is the new introduction, which is not a critical read. However, these shortcomings were minor compared to the rest of the book, which is what should be focused on. It was an excellent piece overall with a very strong center. The book did a great job answering the questions posed in the beginning it. The author did what he set out to do by clarifying assumptions about Iraq as well as Iran. Nakash also answered the questions that he set out to answer to better help the reader understand this …show more content…
As scholars have said it is one of the best-complied works in English on the Shi’is of Iraq and I would have to agree with them. Of all the books I have read on this subject it was by far the most informational and intriguing. It offers a view on a community where there is not a lot of information known. I believe this book was intended for scholarly purposes because it presents a multitude of facts with excellent research and sources. It is intended to teach people more about a country where the history is not well known and not meant to be enjoyable or to make you laugh. It was awkward for me to get through mainly because it is not a subject that highly interests me. There are not many books on this subject and because of that, I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in this topic as well as Iraq and Iran in
My overall opinion of this book is good I really liked it and recommend it to anyone. It is a good book to read and it keep you interested throughout the whole book.
The reason I picked this book is because I have always been curious about terrorism. Truthfully, I really didn’t expect the book to take the stance it did, which focused mainly on the religious implications of what influences people to commits acts of terror. I liked the fact that the book takes new angles in approaching the search for truth, by focusing on case studies and performing interviews with the people who have committed terrorist acts. This is like getting the insiders view of the inner workings and frame of mind people have before, during, and after they have unswervingly performed the acts of violence.
I searched a lot to find an article that talks about the Iraq invasion of Kuwait. The article by Peter Fitzgerald “The Invasion of War” explores the reasons of the war between Kuwait and Iraq, considering that they were great allies in the past. He suggests that the differences between these two countries were economic and diplomatic. In the past the two were great allies and they greatly assisted each other during wars providing a protective edge in their territories. Their friendship was brokeup when the Iraq government realized that they owed them billions. Although at that particular time after the Iraq-Iran war Iraq used much of their resources and could not pay their debt to Kuwait. In a desperate move to resolve this problem, they requested for a reduction in oil prices (Fitzgerald 45).
The Iraq war, also known as the second Gulf War, is a five-year, ongoing military campaign which started on March 20, 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by U.S. troops. One of the most controversial events in the history of the western world, the war has caused an unimaginable number of deaths, and spending of ridiculous amounts of money. The reason for invasion war Iraq’s alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction, which eventually was disproved by weapons inspectors. Many people question George W. Bush’s decision to engage a war in Iraq, but there might be greater reason why the decision was made. The ideas of George W. Bush might have been sculpted by one of the greatest works of all time, "The Prince."
The Persian Gulf War was a time period of confusion. H.W. Bush was just elected into presidency in the United States. The Cold War had subsided and the Berlin Wall had just been torn down. It all seemed calm for the brief years preceding the Persian Gulf War. Nobody expected Iraq to invade Kuwait, the Middle East was blindsided. Nations within the area called for help to stop Iraq from wherever they could get it. The United States responded fast and with action. President H.W. Bush sent in troops and supplies to calm this unexpected invasion, but it soon became an all-out war. Saddam Hussein ruled over Iraq during this time, and he sent his military to invade Kuwait. The causes of the war are often not thought of, but the effects of the war are widely known. These effects are devastating for every country that was involved in this conflict.
In September 1980, Iraq invaded Iran because of a territorial dispute. This led to a long drawn out war that cost many lives and billions of dollars in damages, with either side unable to claim victory. This paper will focus on the three things that distinguish this war from previous wars. First, it was an excessively protracted and attritive war, lasting eight years, essentially destabilizing the region and devastating both countries. Second, it was a disproportionate war in regards to the means employed by either side. Iraq was supported by Kuwait, the United States, and several other Western European countries, allowing them to acquire advanced weapons and expert training (History.com staff, 2009). Lastly, this war used three modes of warfare not seen in previous wars: ballistic-missile attacks, the use of chemical weapons, and attacks on oil tankers in the Persian Gulf (History.com staff, 2009).
The war between Iraq and Iran initiated in 1980 and it lasted eight years (3). The invasion of Kuwait started on the second of August 1990. There are reasons and consequences for this invasion that I am going to talk about in this essay
Nasr, Vali. "When the Shiites Rise." JSTOR. JSTOR, 12 Aug. 2006. Web. 30 Nov. 2013. .
Trice, M 2008, The Middle East: A gigantic Task for the New Administration. Wiley, N.Y.
Iraq’s history is one of both prosperity and violence, and dates back to the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia. While dominated by a variety of civilizations, the region enjoyed a relatively stable society. Since the birth of Islam, the religion has been the dominant cultural belief of the region, and has made its way into the laws and ruling of the region. (InDepth Info, 2010)
Critics have already begun a heated debate over the success of the book that has addressed both its strengths and weaknesses. The debate may rage for a few years but it will eventually fizzle out as the success of the novel sustains. The characters, plot, emotional appeal, and easily relatable situations are too strong for this book to crumble. The internal characteristics have provided a strong base to withstand the petty attacks on underdeveloped metaphors and transparent descriptions. The novel does not need confrontations with the Middle East to remain a staple in modern reading, it can hold its own based on its life lessons that anyone can use.
Andersen, Roy, Robert F. Seibert, and Jon G. Wagner. Politics and change in the Middle East: sources of conflict and accommodation. 9th ed. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1982. Print.
Rivkin, David B., Jr., and Lee A. Casey. "The New Iraqi Constitution." The Heritage Foundation. The Heritage Foundation, 16 Sept. 2005. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
The Middle East is a place often portrayed by violence and terrorism. Often times we allow the media to misconstrue our minds and we fall into and believe the typical stereotypes imposed on us. To say you truly understand the conflicts and issues that occur in the Middle East, I believe you must have had to physically been there or have experienced it. In the fictional novels, The Sirens of Baghdad by Yasmina Khadra and De Niro’s Game by Rawi Hage, we are given two different portrayals and views of the lifestyle that goes on in the Middle East. Although the stories are fictional, many would say that there is some truth behind there “stories”.
Personally, this book felt like a stern documentation of the lives of people in Afghanistan than a leisure novel. This book isn’t for everyone due to the heavy and hideous illustration it presents. Though I did not enjoy the morbid history context of the book, I would definitely recommend it because it tugged at my heart string. Personally the stories I like are most often true stories, the ones that hit the hardest. While reading the novel, It did give me an awareness that not all things in life are innocent and pure and that I should cherish my life since I’m in a haven from war and violence. There are always highs and lows in life, and truthful writing comes the best when you are vulnerable. In this book, I saw it in Khaled Hosseini’s writing, I saw how he described his home town get trampled by war and I saw how his people get murdered by politics. For me I really liked this