In this paper, I shall argue that during the period from the end of World War II until just before the Islamic revolution of 1979, a body of literature emerged critiquing the petro-colonialism of the United States and select European countries, which infected Iran with a severe case of “occidentosis.” This set the stage for the revolution, and a presentation of the principle author of occidentosis, Jalal Al-e Ahmad, will facilitate understanding of the Iranian intellectual tradition.

The Origins of the Shīʿa: Identity, Ritual, and Sacred Space in Eighth-Century Kūfa. By Najam Haider. Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2011. Pp. xvii + 276. $99.