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The authoritative account of the sectarian division that for centuries has shaped events in the Middle East and the Islamic world.
In 632, soon after the prophet Muhammad died, a struggle broke out among his followers as to who would succeed him. The majority argued that the new leader of Islam should be elected by the community's elite. Others believed only members of Muhammad's family could lead. This dispute over who should guide Muslims, the appointed Caliph or the bloodline Imam, marks the origin of the Sunni-Shii split in Islam.
Toby Matthiesen explores this hugely significant division from its origins to the present day. Moving chronologically, his book sheds light on the many ways that it has shaped the Islamic world, outlining how over the centuries Sunnism and Shiism became Islams two main branches, particularly after the Muslim Empires embraced sectarian identity. It reveals how colonial rule institutionalised divisions between Sunnism and Shiism both on the Indian subcontinent and in the greater Middle East, giving rise to pan-Islamic resistance and Sunni and Shii revivalism. It then focuses on the fall-out from the 1979 revolution in Iran and the US-led military intervention in Iraq. As Matthiesen shows, however, though Sunnism and Shiism have had a long and antagonistic history, most Muslims have led lives characterised by confessional ambiguity and peaceful co-existence. Tensions arise when sectarian identity becomes linked to politics.
Based on a synthesis of decades of scholarship in numerous languages, The Caliph and the Imam will become the standard text for readers looking for a deeper understanding of contemporary sectarian conflict and its historical roots.
List of contents
- Prologue: From Karbala to Damascus
- PART I THE FORMATION OF SUNNISM AND SHIISM, 632-1500
- Chapter 1 After the Prophet
- Chapter 2 Sunni Reassertion and the Crusades
- Chapter 3 Polemics and Confessional Ambiguity
- PART II THE SHAPING OF MUSLIM EMPIRES, 1500-1800
- Chapter 4 The Age of Confessionalisation
- Chapter 5 Muslim Dynasties on the Indian Subcontinent
- Chapter 6 Reform and Reinvention in the 18th Century
- PART III EMPIRE AND THE STATE, 1800-1979
- Chapter 7 British India and Orientalism
- Chapter 8 Ottoman Reorganisation and European Intervention
- Chapter 9 The Mandates
- Chapter 10 The Muslim Response
- PART IV REVOLUTION AND RIVALRY, 1979-
- Chapter 11 The Religion of Martyrdom
- Chapter 12 Export and Containment of Revolution
- Chapter 13 Regime Change
- Chapter 14 The Arab Uprisings
- Conclusion: Every Place is Karbala
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
- ENDNOTES
About the author
Toby Matthiesen is Senior Lecturer in Global Religious Studies at the University of Bristol. He is the author of several award-winning books and a frequent commentator in the media. He has previously held fellowships at the Universities of Venice, Stanford, Oxford, Cambridge, and the LSE.
Summary
No sectarian division has had a more momentous impact than that between the two dominant branches of Islam. Widely considered the world's leading expert on the subject, Toby Matthiesen offers the full story of the Sunni-Shia split, delving down from its roots in the early days of Islam to the present day and its global effect on current events.
Additional text
Toby Matthiesen is quickly establishing himself as one of the more interesting historians of the Middle East. He has widened his lens in The Caliph and the Imam, grappling with the sectarian divisions that have plagued the region starting when the Prophet Muhammad was alive and continuing through to the Arab Spring. His thesis, that the sectarian divide was present from the beginning but became much more toxic after European colonial powers carved up the Middle East, is as provocative as it is insightful.
Report
Ambitious...undoubtedly an admirable study...an accessible introduction to the historical context that underpins the modern Middle East Tariq Mir, BBC History Magazine
