Converting Persia cover

Converting Persia

by Rula Jurdi Abisaab

"Converting Persia explains how Iran was to acquire one of its defining features: its Shi'ite character. Under the Safavids (1501-1736 CE). Persia adopted Shi'ism as its official religion. Rula Abisaab explains how and why this specific brand of Shi'ism - urban and legally-based - was brought to the region by leading Arab 'Ulama from Ottoman Syria, and changed the face of the region till this day." "These emigre scholars furnished distinct sources of legitimacy for the Safavid monarchs, and an ideological defense against the Ottomans. Under their tutelage, religious thought was increasingly shaped by questions of imperial authority, class relations and the effects of widespread socioeconomic change that swept the region. Just as important at the time was a conscious and vivid process of Persianization both at the state level and in society. Converting Persia is vital reading for historians, scholars and anthropologists of religion, and those interested in Safavid Persia, in Islamic Studies, and in the wider history of the Middle East."--BOOK JACKET.

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?