Shia-Islam and Shia-islamism in Iraq

How are we to interpret the role of Shia-Islam in recent political developments in Iraq? What was the relationship between the Shia-Islamist parties and Shia-Islamic institutions in these developments, and what is their relationship to-day? Was it about installing a new Shia-Islamic theocracy, or was Shia-Islam, its ritual practices, ideology and institutions rather the fulcrum, which allowed the historically marginalised Shiite population to assert itself politically within the Iraqi polity?

These are some of the questions, which are posed in this article in order to provide a better understanding of the relationship between Shia-Islam and Shia-Islamist politics and, from a wider perspective, between religion and politics.

In answering these questions, the article applies the socio-political conflict explanatory model, which draws attention to the historical contingency of the interplay between socio-cultural, political, and religious factors.