Project on Shi’ism and Global Affairs
Harvard University’s leading initiative for producing advanced knowledge on the universal, transnational, and global dimensions of Shi’a Islamic revival and history from an interdisciplinary perspective.
Featured News
Project at HDS Explores Shi’a Islamic Revival
In July 2022, the project joined the HDS community. Below, Payam Mohseni, the Director of the Project, Ali Asani, Faculty Director of the project and Murray A. Albertson Professor of Middle Eastern Studies and Professor of Indo-Muslim and Islamic Religion and Cultures in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (NELC), and Mohammad Sagha, Lecturer in the Modern Middle East in NELC, offer insights into the study of Shi’ism and the aim of the project.
Introducing the Imam Ali Research Track
In October 2023, Harvard Divinity School's Project on Shi'ism and Global Affairs launched a new research track on the Life and Legacy of Imam Ali, generously sponsored by the Jaffer Family Foundation of New York. The figure of Ali ibn Abi Talib has been simultaneously enigmatic and manifest throughout Islamic history. As the key companion, cousin, and son-in-law to the Prophet Muhammad, Ali occupied a paramount role from the very origins of Islam. Both the first Shi’a Imam–and progenitor of the line of imamate–and fourth Sunni Caliph, the legacy, memory, and centrality of Ali is a key pillar of Shi’a and Sunni Islam.
Featured Publications
The Hidden Imam and the End of Time
Payam Mohseni and Mohammad Sagha
For hundreds of millions of Muslims around the world, including in the West, the Hidden Imam is at the heart of Islam. While those with some background in the study of the faith may have heard of this belief, its core centrality in the Islamic tradition is generally not recognized or properly understood. To address the gap in knowledge on this issue, the Project on Shi’ism and Global Affairs has produced the present report, entitled The Hidden Imam and the End of Time: A Primer on the Mahdi, Islamic Theology, and Global Politics, to raise awareness on the concept, meaning, and significance of the Hidden Imam for scholars, policymakers, and broader public audiences alike.
Taqrib, Shi'a-Sunni Relations, and Globalized Politics in the Middle East
Mohammad Sagha (Editor)
Shi'a-Sunni relations are among some of the most important dynamics in the Islamic world. The taqrib movement was the twentieth century's most significant iteration of Shi’a-Sunni ecumenical relations and peacebuilding in the Middle East, resulting in a sustained scholarly dialogue, joint publications, and flourishing engagement with contemporary and classical Islamic sources. This report -- "Legacies of Islamic Ecumenicism: Taqrib, Shi'a-Sunni Relations, and Globalized Politics in the Middle East" -- focuses on the taqrib movement by featuring several articles by leading scholars in academia as well as by Sunni and Shi’a clergymen whose careers intimately involve them in Shi’a-Sunni dialogue.
Iran's Syria Strategy
Hassan Ahmadian and Payam Mohseni
Iran has been a critical player in the Syrian war since 2011, crafting a complex foreign policy and military strategy to preserve its Syrian ally. What have been the drivers of Iranian decision-making in this conflict? And how has Iranian strategy evolved over the course of the war? This article argues that the logic of deterrence has been fundamental not just for shaping the contours of Iran–Syria relations since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, but also for determining the overall trajectory of Iranian strategy in the Syrian war.
The Emergence of Iran's New Saudi Strategy
Hassan Ahmadian and Payam Mohseni
Iran's strategy with respect to Saudi Arabia is a key factor in the complex balance of power of the Middle East as the Iranian–Saudi rivalry impacts the dynamics of peace and conflict across the region from Yemen to Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Bahrain. What is Iranian strategic thinking on Saudi Arabia? And what have been the key factors driving the evolution of Iranian strategy towards the Kingdom? In what marks a substantive shift from its previous détente policy, we argue that Tehran has developed a new containment strategy in response to the perceived threat posed by an increasingly pro-active Saudi Arabia in the post-Arab Spring period.
About the Project
The Project on Shi’ism and Global Affairs at the Harvard Divinity School undertakes advanced research on the multifaceted and diverse manifestations of Shi’a Islam both historically and in the contemporary period. The study of Shi’ism and its rising prominence in global affairs—including in intellectual debates, the intersection of religion and politics, and transnational geopolitical issues—is more pressing now than ever. The Project encompasses an interdisciplinary approach with a focus on the history, sociology, literature, art, theology, and politics of the diverse Shi’a communities and nations across the globe—who number at least 280-300 million individuals mainly spread across the Middle East, Central and South Asia, Africa, and the West.
Read more about the Project here.
Courses at Harvard
Our Project faculty members are offering the following courses for the 2024-2025 academic calendar year:
Introduction to Iranian Religions & Persian Philosophy
Payam Mohseni
Throughout historical and contemporary periods, Persia (Iran) has occupied a central role in global religious thought and spirituality. The ancient Persian religions, including Zoroastrianism (Mazdayasna) and Manicheanism, had highly developed theological and philosophical worldviews with monotheistic and dualistic theologies. These included cosmologies of Light and Darkness, Good versus Evil, End-Times messianism, and resurrection...
Before and After Muhammad: The Rise and Rivalry of Monotheisms in Late Antiquity
Mohsen Goudarzi and Charles Stang
The period known as Late Antiquity (c. 3rd-9th cent. CE) witnessed major religious transformations that still define our world today, including most importantly the rise of rival monotheisms, the “Abrahamic” traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. After suffering initial persecutions, Christianity gained imperial favor and grew rapidly in Asia, Europe, and Africa, supplanting traditional cults and overtaking other religions...
Shi’a Islam and Politics in the Middle East
Mohammad Sagha
From the rise of the Axis of Resistance and U.S.-Iran rivalry in the region, to the war in Yemen between the Shi'a Ansarallah (Houthis) and Saudi Arabia, and the battle over the future of Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, the rise of Shi’a political actors has been one of the most significant developments in the recent history of the Middle East.
Islam and Religious Diversity
Nicholas Boylston
Questions arising from the diversity of religions recur in all of the major branches of Islamic thought and appear in complex permutations in diverse cultural contexts. Focusing primarily on pre-modern Islam, this course invites students to investigate perspectives on the religious other in the Quran, Islamic law, theology, philosophy and Sufism.
Pedagogy in the Study of Religion
Mohsen Goudarzi
This course is designed for graduate students in the Committee on the Study of Religion, and is open to students in related fields who teach courses pertaining to religion. The course aims to equip students with skills to be effective Teaching Fellows at Harvard and to develop their own approaches to pedagogy as independent instructors in the field of religion.
Regional Order, U.S. Wars, and the Politics of Iraq and Afghanistan
Mohammad Sagha
Regional order in the Middle East has significant consequences and reverberations around the globe ranging from inter-state rivalries, ethno-national violence, world energy markets, and international great power competition for influence in western Asia and interconnected world regions.
Classical Persian Bridge
Nicholas Boylston
Students learn the details of Classical Persian grammar, lexicography, and prosody, and work with modern Persian academic commentaries on classical works. Students gain the reading fluency necessary for research in Classical Persian prose, and a foundational understanding of the major poetic forms...
From the Visions Blog
Get Involved
If you are interested in helping out or looking to assist with research on Shi'a affairs, please email us with a statement of interest and CV.
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