Cover -- Contents -- List of Ilustrations -- Note on Transliteration -- Acknowledgements -- INTRODUCTION -- Approaches to the Study of Religion and Spirituality in Western Cinema -- Shi'i Islam in Iranian Cinema -- 1. SHI'ISM IN IRAN: AN HISTORICAL OVERVIEW -- The Appeal of Shi'ism in Iran and the Foundations of Twelver Shi'ism -- The Twelver Shi'i State of Iran and the Shi'i Ulama -- Conclusions -- 2. CONTEMPORARY IRANIAN DISCOURSES ON RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY IN CINEMA -- Cinema's Introduction into a Muslim Society -- Cinema's Place within Islamic Jurisprudence -- The Paradox of Cinema as a 'Technological Art' -- Cinema as a Domain for Religious and Spiritual Discourse -- Conclusions -- 3. FILMIC DISCOURSES ON THE ROLE OF THE CLERGY IN IRAN -- Resistance to Monopolising Islam -- Parables on the World of the Clergy -- Morals and Values -- Conclusions -- 4. SIGHT, SOUND AND SUFISM: MYSTICAL ISLAM IN MAJIDI'S FILMS -- The Mystical Approach -- Pain and Suffering -- Self-Sacrifice and the Alchemy of Love -- Conclusions -- 5. CINEMA AS A RESERVOIR FOR CULTURAL MEMORY -- The Figure of Husayn and Iranian Shi'i Identity -- Ta'ziyeh: the only Islamic Drama -- Beyzaie: a Film-maker Rooted in 'Historical Genealogy' -- Ta'ziyeh and its Spectators -- Conclusions -- 6. THINKING FILMS: KIAROSTAMI, A POETIC PHILOSOPHER -- Philosophy in Film -- Kiarostami, a 'Poetic Philosopher' -- Reading Life and Death in Kiarostami's Films -- Conclusions -- CONCLUSION -- NOTES -- SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY -- FILMOGRAPHY -- INDEX.