Journal of Political Strategy

Elucidating the Concepts of "American Islam" and "British Shi'ism" and Their Role in the Political Developments of the Middle East


Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 04 September 2026
Journal of Political Strategy

Document Type : Original Article from Result of Thesis

Authors

seyyed ali tabatabaei nasab 1
Ali Shirkhani 2
Mohammad hassan Elahi manesh 3
mojtaba khandan 4

1 PhD Student, Department of Political Science, Islamic Azad University, Qom Branch, Qom, Iran

2 Professor, Department of Political Science, Islamic Azad University, Qom Branch, Qom, Iran

3 Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Islamic Azad University, Qom Branch, Qom, Iran

4 Level 4 of the Islamic Seminary, Qom Seminary, Qom, Iran

Abstract
“American Islam” and “British Shi‘ism” are two relatively new concepts in politico-religious literature that were introduced after the victory of the Islamic Revolution by Imam Khomeini and the Supreme Leader. In contrast to Pure Muhammadan Islam and authentic Alavid Shi‘ism, these two concepts refer to constructs shaped by certain political or religious currents with the support of Western governments. Throughout history, they have played an important and influential role in countering the spread of the teachings of Islam and authentic Shi‘ism, particularly in confronting the Islamic Revolution at both regional and global levels. Given this issue, the main question of the present article is: What is meant by American Islam and British Shi‘ism, and what role do these currents play in the political developments of the region? The findings of this article, conducted through a descriptive-analytical method, show that American Islam and British Shi‘ism, despite having two different functions, pursue a common goal: intensifying sectarian divisions among Islamic denominations, depoliticizing and secularizing the concepts of political Islam, and consequently weakening the discourse of the Islamic Revolution while fostering the expansion of extremist and takfiri Shi‘i and Sunni movements and sectarian conflicts in West Asia.

Keywords

American Islam
British Shi‘ism
Pure Muhammadan Islam
Alavid Shi‘ism
the West
Iran
Subjects

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