Minoo Mirshahvalad
Biographic Data
| ID | 1025159 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Minoo Mirshahvalad |
| GIVEN NAMES | Minoo |
| FAMILY NAME | Mirshahvalad |
| SIGNATURE | MIRSHAHVALAD M |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Copenhagen |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-7497-8173 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 15 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 10 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 15 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2019 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Al-Mustafa University and Transnational Shia Education in Europe
This article presents the findings of the first comparative sociological study of the Iranian university al-Mustafa (AMU) across selected cities in Britain, Italy, Germany, and Denmark. Based on ethnographic fieldwork and semi-structured interviews conducted between 2018 and 2025, it addresses two interrelated questions: First, how is AMU positioned within the complex landscape of European-based Shia educational institutions? Second, which key va…
Transcending the ‘profane’: Shias’ space-making in Italy
Evola’s Militant Professors and the East-West Dichotomy
Crises and Conversions: The Unlikely Avenues of "Italian Shiism"
Shiʿa Smartphone Communities: Trends of Continuity and Change
This article investigates trends of continuity and differentiability between primarily Italian Shiʿa communities online and offline. Here, “online community” is adopted for groups formed on WhatsApp, Telegram, and Zoom, both before and after the outbreak of covid -19. The similarity and differences between Shiʿa activities in the online and offline spheres are investigated in three main areas: interreligious relations, gender roles, and relations…
Religious Conversion as a Form of Religious Contact: Special Issue Introduction
Religious conversion is a phenomenon that has intrigued scholars, theologians, and sociologists for centuries. As the conscious choice of a particular form of religion over another, it is eminently a form of religious contact. Religious conversion may be approached psychologically, sociologically, and conceptually. The contributions of this special issue show all three approaches and cover a wide array of geographical, social, and religious conte…
Creating the Shi’i Sacred Space in Italy
The most serious challenge that Twelver Shi’is face in Italy is the absence of their conventional places of worship. The present study through empirical methods demonstrates how Shi’is create prayer halls by inclusion and exclusion of certain elements and how confer a sort of sacredness to these locals. Although sacredness of the Islamic places of worship is subject to controversy, in this essay we will see how sacredness of such places emerges a…
Shi‘ism Unveiled: Italian Converts and Trends of Inculturation
This article delves into the impact of anti-modern convictions on the doctrinal evolutions of Shi‘ism among Italian converts, employing a synergy between history and sociology. To illustrate this impact, the digital and paper publications of select converts have been analysed. Editorial initiatives serve as primary channels through which converts express their intellectual inclinations and impart a new cultural dimension to Shi‘ism. This new cult…
Islamic reform with or without Ulama? A comparative study between al-Kawakibi and Naini
Through historical analysis and literature review, the current article compares the works of two contemporaneous leading Muslim advocates of reform: Abd al-Rahman al-Kawakibi and Ayatollah Muhammad Husain Naini. The comparison is confined to the primary political treatises of the authors, namely Tabaiʿ al-ʾIstibdad wa-Masariʿ al-ʾIstiʿbad and Tanbih al-Ummah va Tanzih al-Milla. The article delves into the multifaced factors that shaped both the s…
Transnational Karbala: From Rebellion to Reconciliation
This article for the first time examines the activities of transnational information campaigns initiated by young Shiʿa Muslims across European, Russian, and Armenian cities. These campaigns aim to disseminate knowledge about Imam Hussain and his mission to non-Shiʿa audiences. The campaigns serve as vivid examples of the struggles faced by Muslims in relatively hostile contexts as they seek integration and acceptance as law-abiding and peaceful …
To fight ‘Justly’: Shia Clerics under Safavids and Qajars
The present article investigates the close tie between political authority and the legitimacy of ‘lesser jihad’ in Shi’ism, or belligerence towards the outer world. The question of authority within this minor branch of Islam has been the subject of lively and prolonged controversies. Since the 10th century, the absence of a respected and universally recognized religio-political reference point has challenged the legitimacy of ‘lesser jihad’. Here…
Shi'a Women in Italy: Between Tradition and Traditionalism
Through the case study of 20 Shi'a organisations in Italy, this article aims to explore the meanings of traditionalism and how it grows among certain Shi'a women who are members of these organisations. The article compares the two differing and antithetical ways in which Shi'a women relate to their traditions, one being spontaneous and emotional, the other rational and discursive. The primary objective is to show that the rationalisation of tradi…
A Silent Quest for New Shīʿa Religious Leaders in Italy
The special tie between Shīʿas and their religious authority ignites curiosity about the probable evolution of this relationship in a non-Islamic milieu. This paper aims to analyse why the conventional forms of the Shīʿa authority does not suit the life condition in Italy and why there is an implicit demand for new Shīʿa leaders. The answer is given through a two-year empirical research on the Shīʿas’ life in the peninsula. Two factors are deemed…
Converts and the Remaking of Shi’ism in Italy
This article aims to investigate the way in which converts contribute to the redefinition of Shi’ism in Italy and to show how that contribution is reshaping Shi’ism in the peninsula. In order to do so, it first provides an overview of the conversion trajectories that undeniably impact converts’ relationship with the new religion, with Italian society, and with born Shi’is. It then presents two principal factors that affect converts’ approach to S…
Ashura in Italy: The Reshaping of Shi'a Rituals
This essay explores the impacts of Italy's socio-religious tendencies on the Shi'a rituals of Muḥarram and Ṣafar. Ethnography and semi-structured interviews were the main methods adopted for the performance of this research. The implications of commemorating the Karbala tragedy in Italy were studied from four viewpoints. This article demonstrates that the presence of Shi'as in Italy not only exerts an effect on the core meaning of these rituals, …
Converts and the Remaking of Shi’ism in Italy
This article aims to investigate the way in which converts contribute to the redefinition of Shi’ism in Italy and to show how that contribution is reshaping Shi’ism in the peninsula. In order to do so, it first provides an overview of the conversion trajectories that undeniably impact converts’ relationship with the new religion, with Italian society, and with born Shi’is. It then presents two principal factors that affect converts’ approach to S…
Transcending the ‘profane’: Shias’ space-making in Italy
Ashura in Italy: The Reshaping of Shi'a Rituals
This essay explores the impacts of Italy's socio-religious tendencies on the Shi'a rituals of Muḥarram and Ṣafar. Ethnography and semi-structured interviews were the main methods adopted for the performance of this research. The implications of commemorating the Karbala tragedy in Italy were studied from four viewpoints. This article demonstrates that the presence of Shi'as in Italy not only exerts an effect on the core meaning of these rituals, …
Islamic reform with or without Ulama? A comparative study between al-Kawakibi and Naini
Through historical analysis and literature review, the current article compares the works of two contemporaneous leading Muslim advocates of reform: Abd al-Rahman al-Kawakibi and Ayatollah Muhammad Husain Naini. The comparison is confined to the primary political treatises of the authors, namely Tabaiʿ al-ʾIstibdad wa-Masariʿ al-ʾIstiʿbad and Tanbih al-Ummah va Tanzih al-Milla. The article delves into the multifaced factors that shaped both the s…
A Silent Quest for New Shīʿa Religious Leaders in Italy
The special tie between Shīʿas and their religious authority ignites curiosity about the probable evolution of this relationship in a non-Islamic milieu. This paper aims to analyse why the conventional forms of the Shīʿa authority does not suit the life condition in Italy and why there is an implicit demand for new Shīʿa leaders. The answer is given through a two-year empirical research on the Shīʿas’ life in the peninsula. Two factors are deemed…
Ashura in Italy: The Reshaping of Shi'a Rituals
This essay explores the impacts of Italy's socio-religious tendencies on the Shi'a rituals of Muḥarram and Ṣafar. Ethnography and semi-structured interviews were the main methods adopted for the performance of this research. The implications of commemorating the Karbala tragedy in Italy were studied from four viewpoints. This article demonstrates that the presence of Shi'as in Italy not only exerts an effect on the core meaning of these rituals, …
A Silent Quest for New Shīʿa Religious Leaders in Italy
The special tie between Shīʿas and their religious authority ignites curiosity about the probable evolution of this relationship in a non-Islamic milieu. This paper aims to analyse why the conventional forms of the Shīʿa authority does not suit the life condition in Italy and why there is an implicit demand for new Shīʿa leaders. The answer is given through a two-year empirical research on the Shīʿas’ life in the peninsula. Two factors are deemed…
Converts and the Remaking of Shi’ism in Italy
This article aims to investigate the way in which converts contribute to the redefinition of Shi’ism in Italy and to show how that contribution is reshaping Shi’ism in the peninsula. In order to do so, it first provides an overview of the conversion trajectories that undeniably impact converts’ relationship with the new religion, with Italian society, and with born Shi’is. It then presents two principal factors that affect converts’ approach to S…
To fight ‘Justly’: Shia Clerics under Safavids and Qajars
The present article investigates the close tie between political authority and the legitimacy of ‘lesser jihad’ in Shi’ism, or belligerence towards the outer world. The question of authority within this minor branch of Islam has been the subject of lively and prolonged controversies. Since the 10th century, the absence of a respected and universally recognized religio-political reference point has challenged the legitimacy of ‘lesser jihad’. Here…
Shi'a Women in Italy: Between Tradition and Traditionalism
Through the case study of 20 Shi'a organisations in Italy, this article aims to explore the meanings of traditionalism and how it grows among certain Shi'a women who are members of these organisations. The article compares the two differing and antithetical ways in which Shi'a women relate to their traditions, one being spontaneous and emotional, the other rational and discursive. The primary objective is to show that the rationalisation of tradi…
Evola’s Militant Professors and the East-West Dichotomy
Crises and Conversions: The Unlikely Avenues of "Italian Shiism"
Shiʿa Smartphone Communities: Trends of Continuity and Change
This article investigates trends of continuity and differentiability between primarily Italian Shiʿa communities online and offline. Here, “online community” is adopted for groups formed on WhatsApp, Telegram, and Zoom, both before and after the outbreak of covid -19. The similarity and differences between Shiʿa activities in the online and offline spheres are investigated in three main areas: interreligious relations, gender roles, and relations…
Religious Conversion as a Form of Religious Contact: Special Issue Introduction
Religious conversion is a phenomenon that has intrigued scholars, theologians, and sociologists for centuries. As the conscious choice of a particular form of religion over another, it is eminently a form of religious contact. Religious conversion may be approached psychologically, sociologically, and conceptually. The contributions of this special issue show all three approaches and cover a wide array of geographical, social, and religious conte…
Creating the Shi’i Sacred Space in Italy
The most serious challenge that Twelver Shi’is face in Italy is the absence of their conventional places of worship. The present study through empirical methods demonstrates how Shi’is create prayer halls by inclusion and exclusion of certain elements and how confer a sort of sacredness to these locals. Although sacredness of the Islamic places of worship is subject to controversy, in this essay we will see how sacredness of such places emerges a…
Shi‘ism Unveiled: Italian Converts and Trends of Inculturation
This article delves into the impact of anti-modern convictions on the doctrinal evolutions of Shi‘ism among Italian converts, employing a synergy between history and sociology. To illustrate this impact, the digital and paper publications of select converts have been analysed. Editorial initiatives serve as primary channels through which converts express their intellectual inclinations and impart a new cultural dimension to Shi‘ism. This new cult…
Islamic reform with or without Ulama? A comparative study between al-Kawakibi and Naini
Through historical analysis and literature review, the current article compares the works of two contemporaneous leading Muslim advocates of reform: Abd al-Rahman al-Kawakibi and Ayatollah Muhammad Husain Naini. The comparison is confined to the primary political treatises of the authors, namely Tabaiʿ al-ʾIstibdad wa-Masariʿ al-ʾIstiʿbad and Tanbih al-Ummah va Tanzih al-Milla. The article delves into the multifaced factors that shaped both the s…
Transnational Karbala: From Rebellion to Reconciliation
This article for the first time examines the activities of transnational information campaigns initiated by young Shiʿa Muslims across European, Russian, and Armenian cities. These campaigns aim to disseminate knowledge about Imam Hussain and his mission to non-Shiʿa audiences. The campaigns serve as vivid examples of the struggles faced by Muslims in relatively hostile contexts as they seek integration and acceptance as law-abiding and peaceful …
Transcending the ‘profane’: Shias’ space-making in Italy
Al-Mustafa University and Transnational Shia Education in Europe
This article presents the findings of the first comparative sociological study of the Iranian university al-Mustafa (AMU) across selected cities in Britain, Italy, Germany, and Denmark. Based on ethnographic fieldwork and semi-structured interviews conducted between 2018 and 2025, it addresses two interrelated questions: First, how is AMU positioned within the complex landscape of European-based Shia educational institutions? Second, which key va…
Philosophy (11 works) · Political science (9 works) · Sociology (9 works) · Law (8 works) · Philosophy (8 works) · Islamic Studies and History (7 works) · Aesthetics (6 works) · History (6 works) · Archaeology (5 works) · Islam (5 works)