In this thesis, I argue that the reality of Shi'a in contemporary Indonesia is much more complex than commonly understood.
As a result, many scholars have ended up with only a partial or a simplistic grasp of this community. Therefore, it is not surprising that a majority of studies describe a monolithic community and fail to understand differences among the Shi'a in terms of religious views and cultural interaction with other groups. She goes on to say it is widely perceived that the Shi'a are inclined to fight holy wars (jihads). Keddie, holds that the world's image of Shi'a today has been built mainly upon political events in Lebanon or Iran, and consists of short, dramatic oversimplifications. A professor in History of the University of California, Nikki R. Its Global Impacts, also affirm that Western understanding of the Iranian revolution was hampered by misconception it was narrowly seen as a Shi'i revolution. Piscatori in their book, The Iranian Revolution: von der Mehden and Etan Kohlberg shared a similar view. According to him, scholars look at this group stereotypically as marked by religious zeal and violence. in his The Arab Shi'ism: The Forgotten Muslims.
I use the term Shi'ism to denote the denomination as opposed to Sunnism. Fuller In this thesis, those who follow and adhere to Shi'ism will be referred to as Shi'a (plural) or Shi'i (singular and as adjective). Such an impression has permeated the works of many Western, as well as scholars as they analyzed the Shi'a in general. Too often, coverage of the Shi'a, not only in Indonesia, but also in other parts of the world, concludes that this group believes, feels, thinks and acts as one. In doing so, it assumed that the Shi'i community is homogenous and closely tied to Ayatollah Khomeini's revolutionary movement with an Iran-oriented culture. Much of the scholarship on the early growth of this minority focused on the political impact of the revolution. The emergence of the minority Shi'a 1 in predominantly Muslim Sunni Indonesia did not attract significant academic attention until the eruption of the Iran revolution in 1979. The table from Arabic to English and Indonesian is listed as follows: Early Growth of Shi'a in Indonesia The system of Arabic transliteration used in this thesis fol1ows that of the Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University. List of Tables List of Illustrations Notes on Transliteration, Spelling and Referencing