Beyond the usual suspects – bringing in Kuwait’s Shiʿi Islamists

TY - JOUR

T1 - Beyond the usual suspects – bringing in Kuwait’s Shiʿi Islamists

AU - Albloshi, Hamad H.

AU - Freer, Courtney

AU - Valbjørn, Morten

PY - 2025

Y1 - 2025

N2 - Scholarship on Islamism has become increasingly multifaceted and nuanced. However, many claims about Islamism hinge on observations derived from a relatively small number of country and group cases. This article therefore turns to Kuwait and its ‘Islamist scene’. Based on interviews conducted with Kuwaiti Shiʿi Islamists, and by drawing on Arabic and English sources on Sunni and Shiʿi Islamists in Kuwait, we examine whether and how the country’s Islamist scene, in particular its Shiʿi Islamists, can contribute to a reassessment of what we think we know about Islamism at large. First, we situate the paper within an emerging critical trend that points out how much of the existing scholarship on Islamism suffers from two blind spots: Egypt-centrism and Sunni-centrism. Second, we assess the existing scholarship on Kuwait’s (Sunni) Islamist scene. Third, we take stock of trends within Shiʿi Islamism in Kuwait. Fourth, and finally, we use these insights to demonstrate how the Kuwaiti Shiʿi Islamist case can contribute to and enrich our understanding of Islamism and Islamist mobilization at large.

AB - Scholarship on Islamism has become increasingly multifaceted and nuanced. However, many claims about Islamism hinge on observations derived from a relatively small number of country and group cases. This article therefore turns to Kuwait and its ‘Islamist scene’. Based on interviews conducted with Kuwaiti Shiʿi Islamists, and by drawing on Arabic and English sources on Sunni and Shiʿi Islamists in Kuwait, we examine whether and how the country’s Islamist scene, in particular its Shiʿi Islamists, can contribute to a reassessment of what we think we know about Islamism at large. First, we situate the paper within an emerging critical trend that points out how much of the existing scholarship on Islamism suffers from two blind spots: Egypt-centrism and Sunni-centrism. Second, we assess the existing scholarship on Kuwait’s (Sunni) Islamist scene. Third, we take stock of trends within Shiʿi Islamism in Kuwait. Fourth, and finally, we use these insights to demonstrate how the Kuwaiti Shiʿi Islamist case can contribute to and enrich our understanding of Islamism and Islamist mobilization at large.

KW - Islamism

KW - Kuwait

KW - Middle East

KW - Shia Islamism

KW - Sunni Islamism

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105010364680

U2 - 10.1080/00263206.2025.2467756

DO - 10.1080/00263206.2025.2467756

M3 - Journal article

SN - 0026-3206

VL - 61

SP - 736

EP - 753

JO - Middle Eastern Studies

JF - Middle Eastern Studies

IS - 5

ER -