Publication

This report provides an overview of the historical and ideological process through which Shia Islam became politicized in Iraq. The author analyzes the main political actors of the Iraqi Shia community, among them Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the Da’wa Party, the Supreme Islamic Council in Iraq and the Sadr Movement. The report argues that the Shia-Islamist movement should not be viewed as a political voice of sectarian interest, but rather as an idiom in which classical political grievances such as "who gets what and who decides what" are expressed.