| Preface | |
| A Note on Transliteration | |
| Abbreviations | |
| Introduction | 3 |
| Ch. 1 | The Making of Iraqi Shii Society | 13 |
| Iraq the Frontier | 14 |
| The Shrine Cities | 18 |
| The Conversion of the Tribes to Shiism | 25 |
| The Nature of the Conversion | 43 |
| Ch. 2 | Years of Upheaval | 49 |
| The Impact of Two Revolutions | 50 |
| Muslim Unity and the Jihad Movement | 55 |
| The 1919 Plebiscite | 61 |
| The 1920 Revolt | 66 |
| Ch. 3 | Exercising Social Control | 75 |
| Containing the Mujtahids | 75 |
| Managing the Tribal Shaykhs | 88 |
| Baghdad and the Shrine Cities | 94 |
| The Blow to the Status of Persians | 100 |
| Human Dilemmas | 105 |
| Ch. 4 | The Search for Political Representation | 109 |
| Recognizing the State | 109 |
| The 1935 Revolt | 120 |
| The Bid for Power | 125 |
| The Radical Options | 132 |
| Ch. 5 | The Commemoration of 'Ashura' | 141 |
| The Nature of the Muharram Observances | 142 |
| The Mujtahids and the Muharram Observances | 154 |
| The State and 'Ashura' | 157 |
| Ch. 6 | Pilgrimage to the Shrine Cities and the Cult of the Saints | 163 |
| Foreign Pilgrimage | 164 |
| Internal Visitation | 173 |
| Ch. 7 | The Corpse Traffic | 184 |
| Development and Socioeconomic Functions | 185 |
| The Religious Creed versus the Social Order | 192 |
| The State and the Corpse Traffic | 197 |
| Ch. 8 | Shii Money and the Shrine Cities | 205 |
| The Building of an Economic Base | 206 |
| The Oudh Bequest | 211 |
| The Consequences of Dependency on Foreign Funds | 229 |
| Ch. 9 | The Shii Madrasa in Iraq | 238 |
| Features and Functions | 241 |
| Signs of Decline | 247 |
| A New Iraqi Shii Madrasa | 262 |
| Conclusion | 269 |
| Epilogue: The Gulf War and its Aftermath | 273 |
| Appendix 1 The Constitution of the Buraq Quarter of Najaf | 283 |
| Appendix 2 Important Shii Shrines, Tombs, and Holy Sites in Iraq | 285 |
| Appendix 3 Shii Holy Burial Sites | 287 |
| Bibliography | 289 |
| Index | 303 |
