Editing Horse of Karbala: Muslim Devotional Life in India (section)

== Abstract of chapters ==
'''Chapter 1,''' ''Initiation: Hyderabad, 1989''

This part is about the author who is transferred to Hyderabad to do academic research about [[Shiʿism|Shi'ism]] and Shi'a religious ceremonies in Muharram in this city of India.

'''Chapter 2,''' ''An Introduction to the Shia Tradition in Islam''

This part examines the history of the [[Caliphate|caliphs]] after Muhammad and how the incident of [[Karbala]] happened and [[Hussain ibn Ali|Hussain]] was [[Martyrdom|martyred]]. Moreover, it is about the explanation of rituals and ceremonies related to [[Abbas B. Ali B. Abu Taleb|Abbas]].

'''Chapter 3,''' ''Blood, Rationality, and Ritual in the Shia Tradition''

In this part, while attending the ceremonies, Pinault shows the connection of these mourning ceremonies with the story of Gabriel and the choice of Adam. He also explains the Sufi connection with the martyr regarding the various types of death and love.

'''Chapter 4,''' ''"Would That You Could Bury Me, Too, Beside My Brother!": Women's Roles in Shi'a Devotional Literature''

In this part, according to what is evident in Hyderabad ceremonies, Pinault talks about prominent Islamic women such as [[Fatima]], Hussein's mother, Fatima Kubra and [[Sakina bint Hussain|Sakina]], Hussein's daughters,  [[Zaynab|Zainab]], Hussein's sister and Shahrbanoo, Hussein's legendary wife.

'''Chapter 5,''' ''Shia Ritual in a Sunni Setting: Muharram Observances in the Hill Station of Darjeeling, West Bengal''

This part is dedicated to Pinault's second season of Muharram in India, in Darjeeling and is about how mourning ceremonies and rituals are prepared by non-Shi'a organizations. He believes that Muharram is a means of social interaction between Muslims and non-Muslims in Darjeeling. 

'''Chapter 6,''' ''Horse of Karbala: Ladakh, Shia Ritual, and Devotional Literature Relating to Zuljenah''

In this part the author discusses in greater detail Ladakhi Muharram liturgies linked to the Horse of Karbala. Here he provides a larger context for Ladakhi observances by examining historical evidence and classical Shi'a devotional literature (Arabic, Persian, and Urdu) for references to Zuljenah veneration, in Iran and elsewhere in the Islamic world, in the pre-modern period.

'''Chapter 7,''' ''Muslim-Buddhist Relations in a Ritual Context: An Analysis of the Muharram Procession in Leh Township, Ladakh''

Pinault in this part uses Zuljenah procession as a way to talk about relations between Ladakh's Muslim and Buddhist populations. He hopes to demonstrate that the Zuljenah procession both masks and displays Shi'a-Sunni tensions within Leh district's Islamic community. At the same time, he argues, the Horse of Karbala ritual presents a show of monolithic Muslim solidarity for the benefit of Buddhist mourners.

'''Chapter 8,''' ''Shia Lamentation Rituals and Reinterpretations of the Doctrine of Intercession: Two Cases from Modern India''

In this part the author brings together data from his fieldwork in Hyderabad and Ladakh in order to discuss the doctrine of intercession and liturgical actions linked therewith, focusing on reassessments of intercession and critiques of matam in the twentieth century. To provide a context for his field observations he begins with a review of devotional and doctrinal literature from the pre-modern era concerning intercession.

'''Chapter 9,''' ''The Day of the Lion: A Ladakhi Shi'a Ritual Determined by the Zodiacal Calendar''

In this part Pinault discusses The Islamic calendar and the fact that it is lunar, and so holy days such as Muharram shift their date every year in relation to the solar calendar Whenever Muharram occurs in winter, he explained, Ladakh is hold a second, additional, series of rituals to commemorate the death of Hussain.

'''Chapter 10,''' ''Shia Encounters in the United States: Notes on Teaching the Shi'a Tradition in American Classrooms''

In this part Pinault offers his Shiism course; and at semester's end one of his Shia students paid him the compliment of inviting him to speak at her mosque in the city of Pomona the topic: "Being Shia and Being American." After the speech, the congregation's reaction to his talk made the whole venture worthwhile.