Shi’ism in Iran: Theocracy and Democracy

Lecture delivered by Robert Gleave, Professor of Arabic & Islamic Studies at Exeter University.

Professor Gleave was the Principal Investigator for the three-year collaborative project (2009-2011) between the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (BRISMES) and the British Institute of Persian Studies (BIPS), sponsored by the British Academy, entitled Clerical Authority in Shi’ite Islam: The Seminaries of Iraq and Iran with visiting fellowships, workshops, and research projects. This project brought together a collection of international scholars to work collaboratively between March 2009 and March 2012. The workshops have been addressed by Professor Roy Mottahedeh (Harvard University), Professor Sabrina Mervin (CNRS) and Professor Laurence Louer (Sciences-Po).  The Hawza Project ended in March 2012 with a major conference at Keble College, Oxford.