In this Book
- A Concise History of Sunnis and Shi'is
- Book
- 2018
- Published by: Georgetown University Press
The 1,400-year-old schism between Sunnis and Shi’is is currently reflected in the destructive struggle for hegemony between Saudi Arabia and Iran—with no apparent end in sight. But how did this conflict begin, and why is it now the focus of so much attention?
Charting the history of Islam from the death of the Prophet Muhammad to the present day, John McHugo 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 Sunni Ottomans and Shi’i Safavids ensured that the split would continue into the modern age. In recent decades, this centuries-old divide has acquired a new toxicity that has resulted in violence across the Arab world and other Muslim countries.
Definitive, insightful, and accessible, A Concise History of Sunnis and Shi'is is an essential guide to understanding the genesis, development, and manipulation of the schism that for far too many people has come to define Islam and the Muslim world.
Table of Contents
- List of Maps
- p. 8
- Part One
- 2. How Civil War Came to Islam
- pp. 45-66
- 3. Of Umayyads and Abbasids
- pp. 67-90
- 4. The Split Between Sunnis and Shi‘is
- pp. 91-120
- 6. How Iran Became Shi‘i
- pp. 139-164
- Part Two
- 9. Between the Two World Wars
- pp. 205-224
- 10. Tides Ebb and Flow
- pp. 225-238
- 13. Wedges into Fault-Lines
- pp. 281-306
- Family Trees
- pp. 307-308
- Acknowledgements
- pp. 309-310
- Bibliography
- pp. 323-330
- Sources and Further Reading
- pp. 331-332
Additional Information
Copyright
2019