In the Shadow of Sectarianism

Contrary to the conventional wisdom that sectarianism is intrinsically linked to violence, bloodshed, or social disharmony, Max Weiss uncovers the complex roots of Shii sectarianism in twentieth-century Lebanon. The template for conflicted relations between the Lebanese state and Shii society arose under French Mandate rule through a process of gradual transformation, long before the political mobilization of the Shii community under the charismatic Imam Musa al-Sadr and his Movement of the Deprived, and decades before the radicalization linked to Hizballah. Throughout the period, the Shii community was buffeted by crosscutting political, religious, and ideological currents: transnational affiliations versus local concerns; the competing pull of Arab nationalism and Lebanese nationalism; loyalty to Jabal Amil, the cultural heartland of Shii Lebanon; and the modernization of religious and juridical traditions. Uncoupling the beginnings of modern Shii collective identity from the rise of political Shiism, Weiss transforms our understanding of the nature of sectarianism and shows why in Lebanon it has been both so productive and so destructive at the same time.