The Sunni Shi A Divide

Author : Robert Brenton Betts
Publisher : Potomac Books, Inc.
Page : 193 pages
File Size : 55,7 Mb
Release : 2013-07-31
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781612345222

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The Sunni-Shi'a Divide by Robert Brenton Betts Pdf

Until the attacks of September 11, 2001, few Americans knew anything about Islam, let alone about the distinctions between Sunni and Shi'a, the Sufi and Wahhabi, the origins of the Holy Qur'an and Shari'a law, and the respect that all Muslims, even secular ones, harbor for the prophet Muhammad, his family, and Islamic traditions. In The Sunni-Shi'a Divide Robert Betts traces the tortuous history of Islam's sectarian divisions, emphasizing the most important one, the Shi'a departure from Sunni "orthodoxy." Although the majority of Muslims remain faithful to the Sunni sect of Islam, approximately 15 percent subscribe to the Shi'a creed. As America's involvement in the Middle East drags on, Betts reiterates that policymakers, scholars, and laymen alike must understand the many faces of Islam, the internal forces in the United States that have brought us into these conflicts, and the role of Israel in the region's escalating tensions. How the increasing hostility between the two main Islamic factions plays out on the world stage-as Sunni Turkey, Shi'a Iran, and their allies vie for dominance-is of major consequence for everyone, especially financially strapped Europe and the United States.

Author : Lesley Hazleton
Publisher : Anchor
Page : 258 pages
File Size : 49,8 Mb
Release : 2010-09-07
Category : History
ISBN : 9780385523943

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After the Prophet by Lesley Hazleton Pdf

In this gripping narrative history, Lesley Hazleton tells the tragic story at the heart of the ongoing rivalry between the Sunni and Shia branches of Islam, a rift that dominates the news now more than ever. Even as Muhammad lay dying, the battle over who would take control of the new Islamic nation had begun, beginning a succession crisis marked by power grabs, assassination, political intrigue, and passionate faith. Soon Islam was embroiled in civil war, pitting its founder's controversial wife Aisha against his son-in-law Ali, and shattering Muhammad’s ideal of unity. Combining meticulous research with compelling storytelling, After the Prophet explores the volatile intersection of religion and politics, psychology and culture, and history and current events. It is an indispensable guide to the depth and power of the Shia–Sunni split.

Author : Laurence Louër
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 236 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2022-05-03
Category : History
ISBN : 9780691234502

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Sunnis and Shi'a by Laurence Louër Pdf

A compelling history of the ancient schism that continues to divide the Islamic world When Muhammad died in 632 without a male heir, Sunnis contended that the choice of a successor should fall to his closest companions, but Shi'a believed that God had inspired the Prophet to appoint his cousin and son-in-law, Ali, as leader. So began a schism that is nearly as old as Islam itself. Laurence Louër tells the story of this ancient rivalry, taking readers from the last days of Muhammad to the political and doctrinal clashes of Sunnis and Shi'a today. In a sweeping historical narrative spanning the Islamic world, Louër shows how the Sunni-Shi'a divide was never just a dispute over succession—at issue are questions about the very nature of Islamic political authority. She challenges the widespread perception of Sunnis and Shi'a as bitter enemies who are perpetually at war with each other, demonstrating how they have coexisted peacefully at various periods throughout the history of Islam. Louër traces how sectarian tensions have been inflamed or calmed depending on the political contingencies of the moment, whether to consolidate the rule of elites, assert clerical control over the state, or defy the powers that be. Timely and provocative, Sunnis and Shi'a provides needed perspective on the historical roots of today's conflicts and reveals how both branches of Islam have influenced and emulated each other in unexpected ways. This compelling and accessible book also examines the diverse regional contexts of the Sunni-Shi'a divide, examining how it has shaped societies and politics in countries such as Iraq, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Yemen, and Lebanon.

Author : Robert Brenton Betts
Publisher : Potomac Books, Inc.
Page : 254 pages
File Size : 42,5 Mb
Release : 2013
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781612345239

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The Sunni-Shi'a Divide by Robert Brenton Betts Pdf

Until the attacks of September 11, 2001, few Americans knew anything about Islam, let alone about the distinctions between Sunni and Shi a, the Sufi and Wahhabi, the origins of the Holy Quraan and Shari a law, and the respect that all Muslims, even secular ones, harbor for the prophet Muhammad, his family, and Islamic traditions. In The Sunni-Shi a Divide Robert Betts traces the tortuous history of Islamas sectarian divisions, emphasizing the most important one, the Shi a departure from Sunni orthodoxy.A. Although the majority of Muslims remain faithful to the Sunni sect of Islam, approximately 15 percent subscribe to the Shi a creed. As Americaas involvement in the Middle East drags on, Betts reiterates that policymakers, scholars, and laymen alike must understand the many faces of Islam, the internal forces in the United States that have brought us into these conflicts, and the role of Israel in the regionas escalating tensions. How the increasing hostility between the two main Islamic factions plays out on the world stageas Sunni Turkey, Shi a Iran, and their allies vie for dominanceis of major consequence for everyone, especially financially strapped Europe and the United States.

Author : Geneive Abdo
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 240 pages
File Size : 51,5 Mb
Release : 2016-11-01
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780190233167

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The New Sectarianism by Geneive Abdo Pdf

The Shi'a-Sunni conflict is one of the most significant outcomes arising from the Arab rebellions. Yet, there is little understanding of who is driving this tension and the underlying causes. By delving deeply into the historical factors leading up to the present-day conflict, The New Sectarianism sheds new light on how Shi'a and Sunni perceive one another after the Arab uprisings, how these perceptions have affected the Arab world, and why the dream of a pan-Islamic awakening was misplaced. Geneive Abdo describes a historical backdrop that serves as a counterpoint to Western media coverage of the so-called Arab Spring. Already by the 1970s, she says, Shi'a and Sunni communities had begun to associate their religious beliefs and practices with personal identity, replacing their fragile loyalty to the nation state. By the time the Arab risings erupted into their full fury in early 2011, there was fertile ground for instability. The ensuing clash-between Islamism and Nationalism, Shi'a and Sunni, and other factions within these communities-has resulted in unprecedented violence. So, Abdo asks, what does religion have to do with it? This sectarian conflict is often presented by the West as rivalry over land use, political power, or access to education. However, Abdo persuasively argues that it must be understood as flowing directly from religious difference and the associated identities that this difference has conferred on both Shi'a and Sunni. The New Sectarianism considers the causes for this conflict in key countries such as Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Bahrain and the development of regional trends. Abdo argues that in these regions religion matters, not only in how it is utilized by extremists, moderate Islamists, and dictators alike for political purposes, but how it perpetually evolves and is perceived and practiced among the vast majority of Muslims. Shi'a and Sunni today are not battling over territory alone; they are fighting for their claim to a true Islamic identity.

Author : Sabrina Mervin,Rainer Brunner,Jean-François Legrain,Joseph Alagha,Reidar Visser,Thomas Pierret,Roel Meijer,Joas Wagemakers,Stéphane A. Dudoignon,Farian Sabahi,Mariam Abou Zahab,Bayram Balci,Altay Goyushov,Brecht De Smet
Publisher : Hurst Publishers
Page : 361 pages
File Size : 43,5 Mb
Release : 2013-05-29
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781849042178

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The Dynamics of Sunni-Shia Relationships by Sabrina Mervin,Rainer Brunner,Jean-François Legrain,Joseph Alagha,Reidar Visser,Thomas Pierret,Roel Meijer,Joas Wagemakers,Stéphane A. Dudoignon,Farian Sabahi,Mariam Abou Zahab,Bayram Balci,Altay Goyushov,Brecht De Smet Pdf

Sheds light on the political, sociological and ideological processes that are affecting the dynamics of Sunni-Shia relations

Author : John McHugo
Publisher : Saqi Books
Page : 409 pages
File Size : 52,5 Mb
Release : 2017-09-18
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780863561580

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A Concise History of Sunnis and Shi'is by John McHugo Pdf

In this richly layered and engrossing account, John McHugo reveals how the great divide in Islam occurred. Charting the story of Islam from the death of the Prophet Muhammad to the present day, he describes the conflicts that raged over the succession to the Prophet, how Sunnism and Shi'ism evolved as different sects during the Abbasid caliphate, and how the rivalry between the empires of the Sunni Ottomans and Shi'i Safavids contrived to ensure that the split would continue into modern times. Now its full, destructive force has been brought out by the struggle between Saudi Arabia and Iran for the soul of the Muslim world. Definitive and insightful, A Concise History of Sunnis and Shi'is is an essential guide to understanding the genesis, development and manipulation of one of the greatest schisms that has come to define Islam and the Muslim world.

Author : O. Bengio,Meir Litvak
Publisher : Springer
Page : 278 pages
File Size : 48,6 Mb
Release : 2014-12-16
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781137495068

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The Sunna and Shi'a in History by O. Bengio,Meir Litvak Pdf

Sunni-Shi'i relations have undergone significant transformations in recent decades. In order to understand these developments, the contributors to the present volume demonstrate the complexity of Sunni-Shi'i relations by analyzing political, ideological, and social encounters between the two communities from early Islamic history to the present.

Author : Frederic M. Wehrey
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 423 pages
File Size : 41,8 Mb
Release : 2017
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780190876050

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Beyond Sunni and Shia by Frederic M. Wehrey Pdf

This collection seeks to advance our understanding of intra-Islamic identity conflict during a period of upheaval in the Middle East. Instead of treating distinctions between and within Sunni and Shia Islam as primordial and immutable, it examines how political economy, geopolitics, domestic governance, social media, non- and sub-state groups, and clerical elites have affected the transformation and diffusion of sectarian identities. Particular attention is paid to how conflicts over distribution of political and economic power have taken on a sectarian quality, and how a variety of actors have instrumentalized sectarianism. The volume, covering Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, Iran, and Egypt, includes contributors from a broad array of disciplines including political science, history, sociology, and Islamic studies. Beyond Sunni and Shia draws on extensive fieldwork and primary sources to offer insights that are empirically rich and theoretically grounded, but also accessible for policy audiences and the informed public.

Author : Charles River Charles River Editors
Publisher : Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Page : 56 pages
File Size : 47,5 Mb
Release : 2017-01-11
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 1542466121

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The History of the Sunni and Shia Split by Charles River Charles River Editors Pdf

*Includes pictures *Discusses the political and religious history of both main branches of Islam *Includes footnotes and a bibliography for further reading "Our followers are of three kinds, one who follows us but depends on others, one who is like a glass involved in his own reflections, but the best are those who are like gold, the more they suffer the more they shine." - Muhammad al-Baqir Different branches of the same religion are the exception more than the rule, and they have had a profound impact upon history. The schism between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches influenced relationships between nations across Europe, and religious intolerance based on different Christian faiths led to persecution and outright violence across the continent for centuries. The Protestant Reformation split Christianity further, and the results culminated in the incredibly destructive Thirty Years' War in the 17th century. Today, the most important religious split is between the Sunnis and the Shias (Shiites) within Islam. Unlike divisions in other faiths - between Conservative and Orthodox Jews or Catholic and Protestant Christians - the split between the Sunnis and Shia has existed almost as long as the faith itself, and it quickly emerged out of tensions created by the political crisis after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. In a sense, what are now two different forms of Islam essentially started as political factions within the unified body of Muslim believers. Over the past few centuries, Christians have mostly been able to live alongside their co-religionists, but the split between the Sunnis and Shias is still so pronounced that many adherents of each branch view each other with disdain if not as outright apostates or non-believers. The religious divide is perhaps the most important fault line in the turbulent Middle East today, with Sunni nations like Egypt and Saudi Arabia at odds with Shiite nations like Iran. At lower levels, non-state groups like the Islamic State and Hezbollah are fighting each other in ways that cross state lines in places like Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria. Although it is technically a split in religion, the divide has had substantial global ramifications for decades, and there seems to be no end in sight. The History of the Sunni and Shia Split traces the origins of the split and the historic effects of the main divide within Islam. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the history of the Sunnis and Shias like never before, in no time at all.

Author : Nader Hashemi,Danny Postel
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 2017-03-15
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780190862664

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Sectarianization by Nader Hashemi,Danny Postel Pdf

As the Middle East descends ever deeper into violence and chaos, 'sectarianism' has become a catch-all explanation for the region's troubles. The turmoil is attributed to 'ancient sectarian differences', putatively primordial forces that make violent conflict intractable. In media and policy discussions, sectarianism has come to possess trans-historical causal power. This book trenchantly challenges the lazy use of 'sectarianism' as a magic-bullet explanation for the region's ills, focusing on how various conflicts in the Middle East have morphed from non-sectarian (or cross-sectarian) and nonviolent movements into sectarian wars. Through multiple case studies -- including Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Yemen and Kuwait -- this book maps the dynamics of sectarianisation, exploring not only how but also why it has taken hold. The contributors examine the constellation of forces -- from those within societies to external factors such as the Saudi-Iran rivalry -- that drive the sectarianisation process and explore how the region's politics can be de-sectarianised. Featuring leading scholars -- and including historians, anthropologists, political scientists and international relations theorists -- this book will redefine the terms of debate on one of the most critical issues in international affairs today.

Author : Ruhollah Khomeini
Publisher : Alhoda UK
Page : 172 pages
File Size : 52,9 Mb
Release : 2005
Category : Iran
ISBN : 9643354997

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Islamic Government by Ruhollah Khomeini Pdf

Author : Charles River Charles River Editors
Publisher : Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 55,6 Mb
Release : 2014-09-16
Category : Shīʻah
ISBN : 1502389983

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The History of the Sunni and Shia Split by Charles River Charles River Editors Pdf

*Includes pictures *Discusses the political and religious history of both main branches of Islam *Includes footnotes and a bibliography for further reading "Our followers are of three kinds, one who follows us but depends on others, one who is like a glass involved in his own reflections, but the best are those who are like gold, the more they suffer the more they shine." - Muhammad al-Baqir Different branches of the same religion are the exception more than the rule, and they have had a profound impact upon history. The schism between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches influenced relationships between nations across Europe, and religious intolerance based on different Christian faiths led to persecution and outright violence across the continent for centuries. The Protestant Reformation split Christianity further, and the results culminated in the incredibly destructive Thirty Years' War in the 17th century. Today, the most important religious split is between the Sunnis and the Shias (Shiites) within Islam. Unlike divisions in other faiths - between Conservative and Orthodox Jews or Catholic and Protestant Christians - the split between the Sunnis and Shia has existed almost as long as the faith itself, and it quickly emerged out of tensions created by the political crisis after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. In a sense, what are now two different forms of Islam essentially started as political factions within the unified body of Muslim believers. Over the past few centuries, Christians have mostly been able to live alongside their co-religionists, but the split between the Sunnis and Shias is still so pronounced that many adherents of each branch view each other with disdain if not as outright apostates or non-believers. The religious divide is perhaps the most important fault line in the turbulent Middle East today, with Sunni nations like Egypt and Saudi Arabia at odds with Shiite nations like Iran. At lower levels, non-state groups like the Islamic State and Hezbollah are fighting each other in ways that cross state lines in places like Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria. Although it is technically a split in religion, the divide has had substantial global ramifications for decades, and there seems to be no end in sight. The History of the Sunni and Shia Split traces the origins of the split and the historic effects of the main divide within Islam. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the history of the Sunnis and Shias like never before, in no time at all.

Author : Krista Tippett
Publisher : Penguin
Page : 276 pages
File Size : 44,9 Mb
Release : 2008-01-29
Category : Religion
ISBN : 0143113186

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Speaking of Faith by Krista Tippett Pdf

A thought-provoking, original appraisal of the meaning of religion by the host of public radio's On Being Krista Tippett, widely becoming known as the Bill Moyers of radio, is one of the country's most intelligent and insightful commentators on religion, ethics, and the human spirit. With this book, she draws on her own life story and her intimate conversations with both ordinary and famous figures, including Elie Wiesel, Karen Armstrong, and Thich Nhat Hanh, to explore complex subjects like science, love, virtue, and violence within the context of spirituality and everyday life. Her way of speaking about the mysteries of life-and of listening with care to those who endeavor to understand those mysteries--is nothing short of revolutionary.

Author : Milad Milani,Vassilios Adrahtas
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 190 pages
File Size : 46,9 Mb
Release : 2020-12-04
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9783030567613

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Islam, Civility and Political Culture by Milad Milani,Vassilios Adrahtas Pdf

This book provides a comprehensive and interdisciplinary exploration of civility and political culture in the Muslim world. The contributions consider the changing interface between religion and politics throughout Islamic history, and into the present. Extending beyond saturated approaches of ‘political’ and/or ‘militant’ Islam, this collection captures the complex sociopolitical character of Islam, and identifies tensions between the political-secular and the sacred-religious in contemporary Muslim life. The alternative conceptual framework to traditional analyses of secularisation and civility presented across this volume will be of interest to students and scholars across Islamic studies, religious studies, sociology and political science, civilisation studies, and cultural studies.