Abstract
Alagha’s chapter on Hezbollah’s Islamic cultural sphere is sure to generate some of the most interesting discussion. Lebanon and Hezbollah in particular are among the hottest topics in the studies of contemporary Islam, but few people actually have the appropriate levels of both access to and understanding of Hezbollah areas and personalities to do an adequate job of analyzing the ever growing body of cultural production the movement generates. As important is the demonstrable ease with which he can enter into the theological debates surrounding the lawfulness of music, bringing the expertise of an Islamologist to a discussion often dominated by cultural studies scholars who don’t have such a depth of knowledge. His discussion of the transition from al-hala al-Islamiyya [Islamic religio-political sphere] to al-saha al-Islamiyya [Islamic cultural sphere] are extremely important and exciting, particularly since his sources include the highest echelons of Hezbollah’s leadership… Finally, his discussion of how leading Shi‘i thinkers have declared that cultural production has to be central to the construction of revolution has far-reaching implications that most scholars in the field have yet to consider… If Alagha’s chapter shows how Shi‘i thinking is at the forefront of the changing Islamic attitude towards music… it points to the very different ways that Hezbollah conceives of both culture and the role of religion in public life…
