Religious Minorities of the Modern Middle East

The subject of Islam increasingly attracts global attention. This is to the degree that Middle Eastern commentators sometimes seem to assume that the region, despite well-known Shia-Sunni distinctions, is almost homogeneously Muslim. But non-Muslim communities have, for many centuries, played a vital and significant role in the area's rich religious and cultural fabric, and deserve proper assessment in their own right. This timely book offers a lively and comprehensive survey of all the religious communities, other than the Muslim majorities, who inhabit the Middle East today. Separate chapters discuss the history and beliefs of the Alevis, Baha'i, Christians, Druze, Jews, Mandaeans, Samaritans, Yezidis and Zoroastrians, highlighting the unique identity and fascinating character of each tradition. Scholars of international repute explore the current position of these communities, and their relationships to their Islamic neighbours. They also trace the distinctive contributions that each religion has made to the modern Middle East while alerting readers to the challenges that they now face. The first authoritative text to cover the whole miscellany of non-Muslim communities, the book should serve as the ideal point of departure for students and scholars of contemporary religious and Middle East studies, as well as for journalists, policymakers and others interested in better understanding the region's diverse politics and culture.