The Shia Resurgence
Abbas
Magnum Photos
Abbas invites us to a journey in the land of Shi’ism which is emerging as a major political force in the Middle East. One of the paradoxes of the American occupation of Iraq is that the Shia party has been liberated from the brutal yoke of Saddam’s regime and now the US is attempting to contain Iran governed by mullahs from the same sect.
Preview
In Lebanon, twelve years after the civil war, the Hizbullah (Party of God) has successfully shed its image of fanaticism, but remains a highly disciplined, armed party, controlling the country’s border with Israel. In Iran, the mullahs’ rule is now strongly contested by a majority of Iranians leading a schizophrenic existence, torn between the desire for a secular society and the diktats of an Islamic regime. Many women and artists are at the forefront of this opposition and art is the expression of a struggle for some and a refuge for others.
