الناشر: دار الساقي للطباعة والنشر
نبذة الناشر:Imams and Emirs is a comparative study of Islamic sects in the contemporary Arab world. It focuses on the Sunni the Shi'a the Alawis, the Druzes the Ibadis the Zaidis and the Yazidis-and the Christian Maronites, who have been added to the group because they share the same distinguishing features. ...These include geographical isolation, territorial exclusiveness, intensity of rituals and duality of religious organization. The book's unique contribution is to examine not only dogma, but also the ecological, historical and structural variables that differentiate a religion from a sect, and a sect from a religious community or minority. This is the first time that Islamic religious communities have been placed on a single comparative scale. The book focuses on religious ideology and ulama organization, Ideology refers to the genesis and formation of the religious community; organization to the recruitment, training and roles of the ulama (imams) in society.
Whereas Sunni ideology and organization are adapted to the sovereighty of centralized authority (the state, the government) those of other sects are adapted to the sovereignty of the religious community. This explains why Sunni ideology tends to be conformist, whilw that of other sects is rebellious. Many Islamic sects began as rebellious groups and subsequently developed into stable, routinized systems.
Conflict and contradiction among Muslims centre around two poles; the ulama who derive their authority from religious dogma, and the emirs or sultans who base their authority on power and coercion. In Sunni Islam, for instance, the Ulama's role is subsidiary to that of the power elites, but among the Shi'a it is the ulama themselves who form the power elites. After reviewing the ideological and organizational characteristics of individual sects, Khuri addresses the issue of religious change under the heading Brethren of Citizens'. Here, he deals with the interplay between religions, state and nationalism and discusses the contradictions between modern state structures and the Islamic umma Already, the argues, some religious concepts are taking on ntionalistic meanings. إقرأ المزيد